A Name For Ourselves
by lasmn
Summary: Overshadowed by her father, Luffy's daughter sets out to make herself known for who she is rather than who she's related to. Join Caout as she sets sail to Raftel with Tide, her partner, Hazuki, her kid sister, and new friends and does things her own fun way as captain of her own pirate crew! Partially AU Sequel to Straw Hat Legacies: The Name's Caout. TEMPORARY HIATUS!
1. Dusk Falls

Hello, all of you, near and far. For the first time in a very, very long time, I give you another One Piece series! This one is going to be a doozy because it will be VERY LONG and I am still not one hundred percent sure on the ending. But don't any of you expect an ending to this story for quite some time.

Starring in this tale are three characters that are familiar to those of you who read Straw Hat Legacies: The Name's Caout. That's right, people! Caout, Tide and Hazuki are back in action! But they are a bit different. You see, this story will take place in a different universe than The Name's Caout. Everything up to and including The Name's Caout occurred but this universe goes in a different direction than the SHL universe. I don't want to give too much away but I hope you all enjoy this roller coaster ride that I hope stays in true One Piece style by being funny, emotional and fairly unpredictable!

**P.S.**: I _**HIGHLY**_ recommend that people read Straw Hat Legacies: The Name's Caout before reading this one. That story gives you a clear understanding of Caout's kidnapping and return to the crew and tells you about the others, especially Tide and Hazuki. It's fine if you don't read it but I still recommend that you at least skim it to get an idea of what happened. Caout and Tide's pasts will be revealed in due time in this story. Also, for those who don't read The Name's Caout, I kept Ace alive. **Read the version that I posted on deviantArt under the name lasmn18**. That's the fixed up, redone and "best" version of the story. My description in chapter 2 explains briefly how Ace is alive and why he is with the Straw Hat Pirates. Read chapters 15 and 16 for the backstory to how Ayrel met Ace and Luffy, if you're curious. Also, read chapter 14, because Tide gives an explanation about Elementist powers and such.

Caout's surname, Listerra, will be explained as well in due time. Also, for those who didn't read The Name's Caout. Ayrel is my OC. Silverra D. Ayrel is two years older than Luffy, born August 10th, and a distant relative (though they call each other cousins). They met when she was ten. She is a tomboy of a girl with short messy brown hair and brown eyes and she used to be a Marine Captain but Luffy convinced her to join his crew as the Log Keeper so that she could do what she loved most, drawing. She ate the Spark-Spark Fruit, which gives her control over electricity. She married Zoro and they have twins.

**P.S.S: **Caout's name's is pronounced as "Kowt". You know, like adding a "t" at the end of "cow".

Now, are you ready? Are you really ready? Well, then let's set sail!

Disclaimer: One Piece has not ever nor will it ever be mine. I only clam ownership of the OCs that I created in this story.

* * *

Raftel…An island that lay far away from other civilizations…Far in the distance.

To those who had never seen the island, that place was a mystery, an enigma. So many myths and legends were forged over the years about that place none ever saw…

But Gold Roger and the crew of the Oro Jackson _did_ see it. They sailed where no man in living memory had gone before. And it was there that they hid the infamous treasure known as the One Piece.

Years passed and no other ever came close to that island…

That is, until a ship bearing a skull with a straw hat came around.

Captain Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirates became more than infamous around the world. A new Pirate King had been crowned. A new legend had been born.

Then, the legend became a father, as did others in that crew. But one of the children, the Pirate King's beloved older daughter, was taken away as an infant.

Eight years passed and the infant, now a child, who was tightlipped about a past she hated with a passion, happened to cross paths with the Straw Hats and happily joined them, along with a friend who had been keeping her company for several days.

Ah, but that story is one that is already known. This story…Well, this is one that will go down in history.

* * *

It was a calm, peaceful, sunny day on the seas…Yes, so peaceful…

"CAOUT, YOU MORON!"

….Or not…

Eight year old Listerra D. Caout looked up at the sound of her name, her cheeks puffed out due to the immense amount of meat she shoved inside her mouth. She swallowed the meat in one great big gulp. She was on her sixth helping and had plenty of room for more food…

It was moments like this when she was glad to have inherited her father's Devil Fruit powers…

"Oh, hey there, Hazuki," Caout greeted her younger sister, Monkey D. Hazuki, as the girl stormed towards her.

"'Hey there, Hazuki'?" the redhead growled, "After what you did, that's all you have to say to me?"

"…Hiya, Haz," Caout said, oblivious to what Hazuki meant.

"No, Caout," the seven year old replied, "I mean, why are you greeting me so casually after you _stole all my clothes while I was taking a shower_?"

Caout looked down and noticed that Hazuki was indeed dressed only in a towel and water was dripping from her hair. Caout grinned mischievously at her as she put her beloved red cowboy hat, which she has always had, in its familiar position of hanging off her neck instead of on top of her head.

"Come now, Haz," she said playfully, "You really should be used to this by now. After all, how many times have I pulled this prank on you?"

Hazuki murmured something.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Two hundred and eighteen times," Hazuki said in a louder voice.

"…I'm…kind of surprised you know the exact number," Caout said slowly, "But, back to the point! You see! I've pulled it enough times that, honestly, it's your own fault this keeps happening…"

"Just tell me where you put my clothes," Hazuki said lowly, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists.

"Remember that little secret room Daddy always forced you to hide in when people attacked the ship?"

Caout laughed as Hazuki marched off, muttering curse after curse under her breath. Caout didn't tease Hazuki to be mean…It was just her sworn duty as an older sister to prank the hell out of Hazuki.

"The room she hides in? Didn't you put her clothes there ten times already?"

Caout smiled as Nyshairyn Tide, Caout partner in crime, looked at her expressionlessly, as usual. Caout was a bit put out that after knowing each other for seven months, Tide still didn't show any emotion around her or the rest of the crew. Just like when she and Tide had first met back on Garuka Island, where they ran into the Straw Hat Pirates.

But Caout understood why Tide looked and sounded so indifferent all the time. Tide was an Elementist; the design of her eyes was enough to prove that. And Elementists were a persecuted race.

Elementists were people who were born with the ability control the elements of fire, water, earth and air, either singularly or in the pairings of earth and water or fire and air. Tide controlled the latter pairing.

The strength of an Elementist came from his or her ability to pull the power of the sun from the elements. But Tide couldn't control that ability. She had a mark on her arm, hidden by a gold band, which classified her as a rare and extremely dangerous Elementist…A Carrier.

Carriers' inability to control their elements properly was problematic enough, depending on the situation. But the biggest danger was if the mark hidden under the gold band came in contact with sunlight.

According to Tide, a Carrier would become nothing less than a monster…Unable to distinguish between friend and foe. Thus, making them persecuted by "normal" people _and_ their own race.

"Listerra," Tide said as she waved a hand in front of Caout's face, still referring to her by surname as always, "You're zoning out."

"Sorry, Nyshairyn," Caout said as she snapped out it, "I was just thinking about things. What's up?"

"I was reading the paper," Tide explained, holding up that morning's newspaper, "I found something interesting in it."

Tide opened it up the article in question and showed it to Caout, who grinned as she spotted a picture of her father above the article. Caout quickly skimmed the article.

"Hey, it's about what happened back on Garuka!" she cried as she recognized bits and pieces of what was being described.

"Indeed," Tide answered, "Though it's all rather vague. Understandable, considering the only people who know the full details of what happened are either dead, sailing on a pirate ship or suffering from memory loss due to being head-butted and beaten senseless by an eight year old girl…"

"Yeah, you wouldn't happen to know _anything_ about that last one, would you, Nyshairyn?" Caout asked sarcastically.

"Not a thing," Tide replied in monotone.

"Why'd the article come out now?"

"Maybe the information leaked out? I would figure the government would want to keep what happened on the down low, especially the fact that a Marine troop was beaten up by a pair of kids."

"To be fair, it _is_ us…And those guys must've been fresh out of the academy, because they sucked!"

"You know, you're mentioned in here."

"I am?" Caout asked excitedly, snatching the paper and reading through, "'Sources can confirm the Pirate King Monkey D. Luffy has a daughter…The daughter of the Pirate King…The child…Luffy's daughter…The daughter…The daughter…'"

Tide noted that Caout seemed to be getting annoyed the more she read the article. Out of nowhere, Caout slammed the paper to the floor.

"What the hell?" she said angrily, "They keep mentioning me as the 'daughter of the Pirate King' and crap like that! My name's not in there! There isn't even a picture!"

"I would be glad if I were you," Tide said as she retrieved the paper, "You don't want to be on the bounty posters until you're old enough to handle it."

"But this article is making it sound like I'm only important because I'm the daughter of Monkey D. Luffy," Caout said disappointedly, "I did a whole lot of stuff on my own but they're only signaling me out for my blood."

* * *

Another two years passed…The eight year old Caout was now ten.

Caout scanned the paper, hoping against hope as she read articles about the Straw Hat Pirates.

She groaned in frustration as she tossed the paper aside.

"Something wrong?"

Caout looked over her should to see Ace staring at her curiously.

"I'm. Not. Mentioned. _Again_," Caout said with a growl.

"Really?" Ace replied, "I could have sworn I saw-"

"Only more stuff about the 'Pirate King's daughter'," Caout interrupted, "Not about anything I _did_ but just the fact that I was _there_. And there's _still_ no picture of me!"

Ace ruffled Caout's hair fondly.

"Don't worry, Caout," Ace said, "When you're old enough to really cause damage, your name will be all over the place."

"Yeah…" Caout said, "Because I'm related to Dad…"

"Boss!"

Ace turned and saw Tide run up to him and pull on his arm.

"C'mon, Boss!" Tide said, her face still expressionless but her voice livelier than it was two years ago, "You said you'd give me another lesson on using fire today."

"I know," Ace said as he was being dragged by the ten year old, "And would you quit calling me Boss?"

Caout watched them walk away and sighed.

"Hey, Caout!"

Luffy ran up to his daughter, his mouth stuffed with five chicken legs.

"This chicken is so tender!" he said, though his voice was muffled because of the food, "Sanji said he dipped it in-What's wrong?"

Caout gestured towards the newspaper, which Ace had dropped when Tide dragged him away. Luffy pulled out the chicken bones and realized the problem.

"One day, they'll know your name, Caout," he said, "Then, you'll have a cool wanted poster like me and Zoro and Sanji and Ace and Ayrel and-"

"But I wouldn't have earned it," Caout said before Luffy could go on.

Luffy looked at her expectantly so she continued.

"When I get wanted poster, it's not going to be because of anything I did…It'll just be because everyone finally knows the identity of the Pirate King's daughter. I don't want to be known for who I'm _related_ to. I want to be known because I was being _**me**_."

Caout looked over in the direction of a series of cheers. She saw the rest of the crew enjoying dinner outside on the deck. Usopp was telling stories to his own daughter, Annetoinette, Sanji and Robin's daughter, Anna, and Hazuki. Anna's brother, Tamaki, was hanging out with his best friend and Zoro and Ayrel's son, Sky, both of them cheering on their dads, who were involved in another one of their infamous fights while their moms and Nami laughed in the background. Tide was in the middle of her lesson with Ace, who she looked up to and was closest to after Caout. Kuina, Sky's fraternal twin sister, was practicing her two sword fencing style over on the side. Franky and Chopper were doing a dance with chopsticks and bamboo sieves while Brook played festive music in the background.

"You know, Caout," Luffy said as he too watched the crew, "If that's how you feel, then you're never going to be happy if you remain with the Straw Hat Pirates…"

Caout snapped her head towards Luffy, an expression of horror written on her face.

"_**You're kicking me out**_?" she yelled in disbelief.

"No!" Luffy replied, "Why the hell would I do that? I meant, if you want to be famous for your own actions, you're going to have to form a crew of your own."

Caout stared blankly at Luffy.

"…A crew…" she repeated, "…My own crew?"

Luffy gave Caout his signature broad grin.

"Sure! That sounds cool, right? You can make new friends, see all sorts of cool places and beat up people who mess with you."

Caout thought it over. A crew of her very own? With her as the captain? She could see so many new places…And _she'd_ be in charge! And she could make new friends…

If she got a bounty poster then…It would be because she was Listerra D. Caout, not the Pirate King's nameless daughter!

…But…

"…I wouldn't be with you guys anymore…" she said quietly, leaning against her father.

"…Nope," Luffy answered, wrapping an arm around his daughter's shoulders, "And I'd miss you…We all would…But, if that's what you want, then I'm not gonna stop you…"

Luffy gave Caout one last grin before heading back for more food. Caout stared after him for a moment before turning her gaze to the ocean.

"…Go out the sea…On my own?" she murmured to herself, "…Can I? Should I?"

Caout wasn't sure what to do…What would _they_ have done?

* * *

"_You know what would be cool, Caout? Going out to sea!"_

"_We'd be free to sail wherever __**we**__ want and do what __**we**__ want to do! Doesn't that sound like fun?"_

"_It would be the four of us…You, me, and my two idiot siblings over there…"_

"_You promise you won't leave me alone?"_

"_Caout, you're stuck with us for life!"_

* * *

Another three years passed…Caout was thirteen.

The Straw Hat crew had docked at Fuchsia Village, Luffy's hometown, a year earlier. The kids often stayed in the village and explored while the adults of the crew went off on voyages. But the Thousand Sunny had returned from its latest voyage and time had come for the crew to set off once again…

"Caout!" Nami called to her daughter, who was still standing on the port, "Hurry aboard! The Log Pose is set and we're setting off!"

Caout's gaze was fixed on the wooden dock. The wind was playing with her hair and swinging her cowboy hat, which hung off her neck as always. It was as though she hadn't heard Nami's words.

"Caout?" Nami said questioningly as the rest of the crew also stopped and stared at the girl, "Caout, why are you shaking?"

"…I'm staying, Mom," came the whisper of a reply.

Not a sound was made…

Caout kept her gaze down, her eyes watering. When her father had given her the chance three years ago, she didn't know what to do…But now, after staying in the village for a year, she knew what she wanted for the future…

And to obtain that future, not only for herself but for _**them**_; the ones who implanted in her the desire to set sail out there…She _couldn't_ stay a Straw Hat Pirate…

"Staying…" Nami repeated after over a minute of agonizing silence. She remembered Luffy telling her about his conversation with their daughter three years ago but it couldn't be that, "Caout, don't be silly. Hurry and come aboard."

Caout shook her head no.

"Caout, I mean it. Get on the ship."

Another shake of the head.

"Caout, I swear I-"

"It's okay, Nami."

Nami looked back at Luffy, who stood beside her. Caout looked up at her father's voice. He was looking at her with a resigned expression.

"…You've decided to do it, huh?" he asked, "You're forming your own crew…"

Caout slowly nodded, forcing her tears back. Nami shook her head.

"No," she said softly, "No, I don't accept this. Caout, young lady, you are getting on this ship and we are sailing back to the New World _together_!"

"Nami," Luffy said as he put a hand on her shoulder, "I already told you about this…We both knew she would-"

"I don't care!" Nami shouted in return, her tears falling, "I only got her back **five years ago** and you're telling me we're going to let her disappear _**again**_? No! She is staying with us, Luffy! She is-"

"Mom."

Nami turned to see that Caout was now in front of her. Caout didn't bother to stop her tears from spilling. They would have fallen sooner or later.

"Please, Mom," Caout said softly, "It hurts…It hurts a lot…But I have to do this."

"No, you don't," Nami replied, putting her hands on Caout's shoulders.

"I do. Mom, you felt sad when you had to leave your home to sail around the world, right? How do you think _I_ feel? The Thousand Sunny **is** my home. You, Dad, Haz, everyone…You're **all** my family. Leaving you hurts but…But I want to try this…To make my own future."

Nami pulled Caout into a hug and slowly stroked her hair. Caout hugged back, her tears staining Nami's blouse. After several minutes, they pulled apart.

"I know you hate hearing this," Nami started, "But you truly are your father's daughter, Caout."

"It's okay," Caout sobbed, "I like it when it's said like that."

"…You're sure about this?"

Caout nodded…

"…I can't stop Luffy when he gets an idea in his head," Nami said with a chuckle, "So how on earth could I stop _you_?"

Caout mouthed the words "thank you" as Nami kissed her on her forehead. Caout then turned his attention to Luffy.

"You brought that thing I asked of you, right?" she asked.

"Yeah," Luffy said with a frown as he took a tiny wrapped bundle out of his pocket and gave it to Caout, "That thing is puny and it was making me sick…I don't know why you wanted one so desperately."

Caout turned pale as the bundle was placed in her hands. She felt ill as she unwrapped the bundle and revealed what was inside.

Attached to a thin, silver chain was a green stone, no bigger or thicker than a single Berry coin.

A piece of seastone…

"It shows my determination," Caout replied as she put on the necklace, practically feeling her energy and Gum-Gum powers draining out of her, "If I show off my rubber powers, everyone will know I'm your daughter, Dad, and all of this would have been for nothing. So, from this moment forward, I will only use my Gum-Gum Fruit powers in an absolute emergency."

"But how are you going to fight if that stone takes away your energy?" Nami asked, worrying over Caout's pale face.

"No worries, Mom!" she replied, "I'm going to train so that I can handle wearing the seastone. I'll be fine!"

Luffy then stepped forward and grabbed Caout's hat unexpectedly. He held it in his hand and grinned at her.

"So, what's your dream, Caout?" Luffy asked.

"To become known for who I am, not who I'm related to," she replied.

"And you're going to do that how?" he asked, curious as to why his daughter decided on this village.

"You started your piracy at seventeen," Caout explained, "So _I'm_ going to start at sixteen. But I don't want to set sail while I'm in the Grand Line or the New World. I want to go through it all…To start from a small village in the world's weakest sea…To visit Loguetown…To go over Reverse Mountain…To explore the Grand Line…See Fishman Island…To explore the New World…All with my own crew!"

"Alright then," Luffy laughed, "Then, let me tell you this. Me and the rest of the crew will be heading back to Raftel. We'll hang out there and wait for you. So, you're goal is to get there with your own friends and your own ship."

"And when I do?"

"Then, we'll have a HUGE party…And…I'll let you and _your_ crew fight anyone you want from _my_ crew."

Caout's jaw dropped at that.

"So…So I can fight you…And you won't hold back just because I'm your daughter?"

"Not one bit," Luffy confirmed.

"You are so on!" Caout cried happily.

Luffy smiled at that and placed Caout's red cowboy hat back in its normal position on her.

"Then, get it done…" Luffy said as he pulled Caout in for a tight hug, "I'll be waiting for you."

"I'll miss you," Caout whispered as Nami joined the hug, "I love you guys…"

"We love you too, Caout…"

Caout broke apart from her parents and saw Hazuki standing a foot away, staring at her in shock. Caout walked up to her.

"Haz…" she said softly.

"You're _leaving_?" Hazuki asked, "_Just like that_?"

"Well, I need to grab my stuff from our room but yeah, I'm leaving."

Hazuki's body shook and Caout reached out to hold her.

"Oh, Haz…"

"Me too."

Caout froze, her arms still extended.

"Wh-What?" she said.

Hazuki looked at her with a defiant expression.

"I'm coming with you!" she said, leaving no room for anyone to argue with her.

"_**WHAT**_?" the whole crew cried.

"Well…" Luffy started, scratching the back of his head, "That's…unexpected…"

"That's all you have to say, Luffy?" Nami asked, exasperated, "We're letting both of our children go off on their own? You realize we probably won't see them face to face again for **about three or four years**!"

"I know," Luffy said in a rather serious tone, "You think I'm not hurting because of this? But I won't stop them if this is what they want…"

"Papa…" Hazuki said softly.

"You know, Haz _needs_ to go with Caout," Luffy said, "After all, who better to navigate for her than her little sister?"

"But Haz," Caout started.

"No buts, Caout," the twelve year old replied stubbornly, "You want to be acknowledged for who you are by the world…But I just want to _**be acknowledged**_! All those articles mentioned you but they didn't even hint at my existence…My dream is to prove to the world that I exist! That I live!"

"…Alright, Haz," Caout said, "But if this is going to work out, I can't let anyone know we're related by blood…"

"Our surnames will draw away suspicion," Hazuki said casually, "So long as you still call me your sister, I'll handle anything."

Caout grinned and gave Hazuki a noogie.

"Then, welcome aboard, little sister!" she said cheerfully.

"I'm coming too, Listerra."

Caout blinked as Tide stepped forward.

"…Really, Nyshairyn?" she said, "Remember what I said before about stalking me…"

"Shut up, you loony!" Tide laughed, causing Caout to smile.

Tide no longer had her eyes half closed, as though she was constantly bored. She no longer spoke in monotone or frowned no matter what. Now she laughed, her eyes were wide open and bright and she had such liveliness about her.

The real Nyshairyn Tide had come out at last…

"But seriously, I'm coming with you," she said, raising an eyebrow at Caout, daring her to argue.

"But what about your lessons on controlling fire?" Caout asked.

"Boss taught me enough for me to try it on my own."

"But now your air powers are acting up," Ace said.

"That's the curse of being a Carrier," Tide said with a shrug, "My powers will act up but it's my job to be able to work around it."

"But you don't have to come with me to do that," Caout said, though secretly she had been hoping for Tide to come along.

"Listerra, when you told me you trusted me and that we were partners back on Garuka, I swore to stick by your side, no matter what," Tide said, "I owe you everything. My happiness, my freedom, my life, everything…My dream is to stand by my partner through thick and thin…Besides, I'm not going to let poor Hazuki deal with your insufferable presence all by herself."

"I resent that!" Caout replied, putting her hands on her hips.

"I don't care. The point is simple: I'm coming. You have no say otherwise. The end."

Silence.

"Well, alright then!" Caout said with a laugh.

Tide nodded her head and then turned to Ace, who was staring at her.

"So, you're heading off too," he said, "I'm losing both of my nieces and my charge in one fell swoop."

"I'll be back," Tide said, suddenly nervous, "It'll take time but-"

"I'll be waiting," Ace interjected, "And I'll get to see just how much you've improved after my lessons."

"Yeah…" Tide said softly, "Thank you…Thanks for everything, Boss."

Ace raised an eyebrow at Tide's unsure face. He chuckled and held out an arm.

"Come here, kid."

Tide ran to Ace and hugged him tightly. The bond between the two of them grew over the years as Ace taught Tide about using fire…And now the charge was heading off.

"Wow!" Caout said cheerfully, "A first mate and a navigator and I didn't have to do a thing! Dad, this captain stuff is a cinch!"

"Keep thinking that, Caout…Just keep thinking that…" Luffy said.

* * *

After retrieving their stuff from their room and saying their goodbyes to the rest of the crew, Caout, Tide and Hazuki tearfully waved off the Thousand Sunny as it set off from the port…Off to the New World…

…It would be quite some time before they saw that ship and its passengers again…

"I can't believe we're really doing this," Hazuki whispered, still staring at the horizon long after the Thousand Sunny had disappeared over it.

"Well, we are," Tide said, "The next time we meet them, we'll be with our own nakama, our own ship and bounties that we earned through our own work."

"Well, I don't know about Hazuki," Caout said in a teasing tone, "They'll probably just give her a bounty for being related to Dad."

"At least they'd be acknowledging me," Hazuki replied as she punched Caout's shoulder, "But don't worry. I'll be sure to earn the bounty I receive. That reminds me…I need to develop a way for me to fight in battles…I can't keep doing things the way I've always done before."

"You mean by being forced to hide, then sneaking around and doing some damage by breaking some important doohickey?" Tide asked.

"Yeah, that…"

"…That kinda hurt," Caout said as she rubbed her shoulder, "Man, this whole seastone, not rubber thing will take some time to get used to."

"You better get used to it!" Tide scolded, "I'm not looking forward to seeing you look like you're gonna throw up any second for the rest of my life!"

"C'mon, you two," Hazuki said, "We're having dinner at Makino's and then we'll go to Dadan's place."

"ALRIGHT, FOOD!" Caout shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Shut up!" Tide yelled as she rubbed her ear, "You probably won't eat as much since your stomach won't stretch anymore."

"Don't say that," Hazuki groaned, "Now she'll take it as a challenge."

"Well, challenge accepted!" Caout laughed, "Alright, girls! Food first then sleep, because starting tomorrow, we're training our asses off!"

Hazuki and Tide looked at each other and rolled their eyes at Caout's unbridled enthusiasm. Caout didn't pay attention. Instead, she pointed a finger confidently towards the darkening sky.

"Get ready, world!" she shouted, "In three years, we're setting out and making a name for ourselves!"

Tide and Hazuki cheered in agreement and the girls all ran to get to Makino's place. The sun was setting now but soon it was going to rise to signal the start of a brand new adventure.

And so, three years passed…

* * *

And here we go! All done for the first chapter! The point of this chapter was to introduce new readers to Caout, Tide and Hazuki and set the stage for the story. Consider this a prologue. Starting next chapter, the girls will set off and the story will really kick off! By the way, when I mention that the eye design of an Elementist is different from other people, I mean the eyes look unique. Look up "bright anime eyes" in Google and the first image should be the picture I think is most accurate as to the shape, not the color, of the eyes. It's not an exact match to what's in my head but it's very close.

Plus, I realize that you think Luffy's a bit out of character in certain parts of this chapter, but I don't think it's unreasonable. After all, he still has a lot of his old personality but the fact remains that he went through a lot of stuff, he is the father of two and he had to deal with all that stuff that occurred in SHL: The Name's Caout. So I feel that he's matured quite a bit but is mostly just like usual.

Also, Caout hat is one that she has had since she was a baby. Luffy bought her an adult sized cowboy hat and it's her treasure. The way she wears it is the same way Luffy wears his hat when he is battling someone. You know how it hangs off his neck by the string when he fights? That's how Caout wears her hat, except she wears it like that all the time.

As for the other Straw Hat Kids that are mentioned, here are some brief descriptions.

Roronoa Kuina: Born January 9th. Age, as of end of this chapter, is thirteen. Height, as of the end of this chapter, is 5'3. She is the oldest and tallest of the kids. She is Sky's older fraternal twin. She has green hair, in a boyish style, and wears a red barrette to keep the bangs on the right side of her face out of her eyes. She has black eyes. She usually wears boyish clothes and tends to be mistaken for a guy. She takes after Zoro mostly, and is like everyone's big sister, though she is more like a frenemy to Tamaki. She has two fencing rapiers and fights using the Templar Fencing Style, taught to her by Templar herself. Kuina's goal is to perfect the style and one day fight Templar and beat her with her own fencing style.

Silverra D. Sky: Born January 9th. Age is thirteen. Height is 5'1. He is Kuina's younger fraternal twin. He has messy dark brown hair and brown eyes. He dresses in a skater style and always wears a pouch on his leg, which holds his sketchbook and pencil, much like his mother. He takes after his mom and is very kind and gentle. He inherited his mother's Spark-Spark Fruit powers but is not skilled enough for objects to pass through him automatically. Sky's goal is to become as skilled an artist as his mother. He is good but he still has a long way to go.

Tamaki: Born April 23rd. Age is thirteen. Height is 5'2. He is Anna's big brother. He takes after his father with looks, except his hair doesn't cover an eye and he doesn't have a swirly eyebrow. He dresses in a formal style, like his dad, but he loves archaeology, like his mom. His right leg is metallic from the knee down to an accident where a train ran over it. He specializes in kick fighting, like his dad, and has a frenemy status with Kuina. Tamaki's goal is to teach others how to read the ancient writings of the Poneglyphs so that their history may always being passed on and studied.

Nico Anna: Born December 12th. Age is twelve. Height is 5'0. She is Tamaki's little sister. She looks just like her mother but has her father's lively personality and love for cooking, though she has none of his skills. She likes to wear plain dresses in dark colors. She is best friends with Annetoinette and Hazuki. She inherited her mom's Hana-Hana Fruit powers. Anna's goal is to one day be as great a cook as her dad, and trust me she has a very, very, very LONG way to go.

Annetoinette: Born August 30th. Age is twelve. Height is 4'10. She is an only child and daughter of Usopp and Kaya. After Kaya's death, she was given to the crew to be raised. She has long wavy blond hair and black eyes but no long nose. She likes to wear frilly dresses in light colors. She is best friends with Anna and Hazuki. She is a great sniper, like her dad, but she specializes in archery. Annetoinette is sometimes called Annie for short. Annetoinette's goal is find the man who taught her archery in the first place, Daly, and challenge him to a contest.

Caout, Tide and Hazuki will be properly described in the next chapter but here is some basic information that won't necessarily be revealed in the story.

Listerra D. Caout: Born August 15th. Age is thirteen. Height is 5'2. The origin of her surname is currently unknown but will be revealed.

Nyshairyn Tide: Born June 15th. Age is thirteen. Height is 5'3. Her past is largely unknown and she hasn't opened up about it yet but it will be revealed.

Monkey D. Hazuki: Born September 4th. Age is twelve. Height is 4'7. She is the second youngest and shortest of the crew.

By the way, don't think I am never going to write about the Straw Hat Pirates again. I may put special chapters in that flashback to the girls' time with the Straw Hat Pirates.

Anyways, starting next chapter, the adventure begins for real! Thanks for reading, please review and see you next chapter!


	2. The Worst That Can Happen

Last chapter was rather long, wasn't it? It was to serve as the prologue to what will be going on. I don't have a set length each chapter is going to be. I'll try though to make each one at least two thousand words long but they'll vary. I'll write each chapter until I feel that it's a good place to end.

I think the previous chapter to the next couple chapters can be simply called the **Setting Sail Arc**. This and the next one or two chapters will only star Caout, Tide and Hazuki. Why? Well, I don't want to start a big thing so suddenly. Plus, I know some people are reading this without having read The Name's Caout, so I want those readers to get used to the Caout-Tide-Hazuki dynamic. Plus, old readers will need to get used to Tide's livelier personality.

But don't worry! Things are going to get really interesting after this arc! I hope you like it!

P.S.: Oda confirmed in an SBS that the child Makino was holding in one of the chapter covers was indeed her own child.

Disclaimer: The only stuff I can claim to own are a few One Piece and Hetalia DVDs, some stuffed toys, a few music boxes, a lot of books and my OCs….And my laptop…Everything else is not mine.

* * *

The sun shone brightly in the blue, cloudless sky. There was a healthy breeze and the seas near Dawn Island were calm.

Perfect weather to set sail in…

"I can't believe they're setting off already," Makino said as she stood by the port where she had bid farewell to another young pirate several years ago.

"I can't believe those girls are following in Luffy's footsteps!" old Mayor Woop Slap said angrily, "That boy has been a horrible influence on those kids!"

"Now, Mayor," Makino said with a laugh, "I know you're proud of Luffy…"

"_Why would I be proud that the world's most infamous criminal came from our village_?" Woop Slap shouted, though Makino knew him too well to take his words seriously, "And where is that kid of yours, Makino?"

"Said goodbye yesterday and is moping about the girls leaving back home…" Makino answered, shaking her head at her child's antics.

"Aw, I'll miss that brat too!"

Makino and Woop Slap turned to greet the owner of the laughing voice.

Her shoulder length black hair was as messy as ever and there was a single, chin length braid going down the left side of her face, wrapped in a gold string. She wore a dark red dress shirt with elbow length sleeves and an unbuttoned black vest over it, black skinny jeans and black dress shoes. Her right hand was bandaged around the palm, as usual, and her signature red cowboy hat hung off her neck as always. Also hanging off her neck was the green piece of seastone that she used to keep herself from resorting to using her Devil Fruit powers.

"Caout," Makino said amusedly, "You can't call someone older than you a brat."

"That's never stopped me before," the sixteen year old replied, a twinkle in her black eyes.

"Yes, we _all_ know how much you love calling people brats, Listerra…"

"Shut it, Nyshairyn!" Caout said to her partner.

Tide had cut her hot pink hair so that it reached just past her shoulder blades. She wore a dark blue, short sleeved collared shirt, which showed off the gold band that covered the brand on her right arm and the long scar that ran all the way to her elbow on her left arm, dark blue jeans and her silver chain with the circular pendant.

"What're you staring at?" Tide asked Caout.

"…You're still not wearing any shoes," she replied, looking at Tide's bare feet, "I still don't get why you do that…"

"You have your tastes, I have mine," Tide said with a roll of her cerulean blue eyes.

"Are you sure you guys will be fine with just this little fishing vessel?" Woop Slap asked as other members from the village showed up to bid farewell, "We could get you something bigger to use."

"Nah, it'll be fine, Mayor!" Caout said confidently, "What's the worst that can happen?"

"Do you want me to make a list?"

Hazuki had her hands on her hips, her brown eyes staring at Caout with an exasperated look. Her long orange hair was pulled back in a braided ponytail. Around her neck was the purple beaded necklace, off of which she hung her glasses. She wore a dark teal, long sleeved tunic, a belt wrapped around her waist, white pants and black open toe boots. Hanging off the belt, on her left hip, was a black rod, a bit shorter than her arm, with a round orb that several buttons on it attached to the end.

"Quit being such a worrywart, Haz!" Caout scolded her fifteen year old sister playfully, "I mean, worse comes to worse, we may need a new boat. Nothing bad!"

"Ugh, you're clueless, Caout," Hazuki said, putting a hand to her forehead, "Oh, by the way, thanks _so much_ for hiding my clothes while I was taking a shower this morning!"

"How are you not used to this by now?" Caout asked with a laugh, "How many times have I pranked you like this?"

"Four hundred and fifty seven times," Hazuki said with a growl.

"…Do you have a book or something where you keep a running tally, because that's just-"

"Anyways," Tide interrupted, turning her gaze to the villagers, "Thank you guys for putting up with us for the past three years."

"And special thanks for not kicking us out after we leveled three houses and the tailor's shop!" Caout added with a grin.

"Caout, that was **all** you…" Hazuki said with a shake of her head.

* * *

After several more minutes, the girls had prepared the boat so that they could sail.

"Now, you remembered to say goodbye to Dadan and the bandits, right?" Makino whispered so the other villagers couldn't hear.

"Course we did," Tide said, "Dadan yelled at us for being far worse than Luffy and Boss had been but she was sobbing within minutes."

"Alright, here's the last of our stuff!"

Caout and Tide stared as Hazuki placed three blue backpacks in the vessel.

"What're those?" Caout asked.

"Backpacks, Caout," Hazuki said slowly, as though she were talking to an infant, "You know, bags you carry and-"

"I KNOW THAT!" Caout yelled, "I mean, what's in them?"

"Important things," Hazuki explained, "Mine holds navigation equipment, maps and a Log Pose for us to use once we reach the Grand Line. Tide's holds some canteens of water and some money…"

"And mine?"

"Food. That's all I can trust you to hold, and just barely at that."

"WICKED!" Caout yelled with joy as she made a grab for her bag, only to have her hand slapped by Tide.

"I know our luck very well," Hazuki continued, "So I wanted our most important supplies to be safe should anything happen to our boat."

"And they'll be safe in backpacks?" Tide questioned.

"Not just any backpacks," Hazuki said with a smile, "They're waterproof…And they float."

"Really?" Caout asked, only to grab one and drop it in the water. It floated, "Well, I'll be darned…"

"I bought them from a merchant ship that passed by," Hazuki said as she retrieved the bag, "At least _one of us_ is planning ahead…"

"I still say you're too worried."

Caout, Tide and Hazuki stood in their boat and turned to the crowd that was sending them off. Hazuki smiled as she spotted Dadan and the other bandits hiding behind a building just a few feet away.

"Keep an eye on the papers, everyone!" Caout said, "You'll be seeing our names soon enough!"

"I'd better not!" Woop Slap yelled as Tide untied the rope keeping them docked.

"See you later!" the girls said as the boat pulled away, Tide and Hazuki waving while Caout offered a quick salute.

"I'll miss those three," Makino said as she waved them off, "But they'll be fine…"

Woop Slap sighed…

"If they're anything like Luffy, then yes, they will be…"

* * *

Caout stared until the village and all the waving citizens were no longer in sight.

"Man, I'll miss those guys…" she said with a sigh, "Especially Makino's cooking."

"Of course your mind is on food," Tide said with a chuckle.

Caout was about to retort when the waves turned choppy and the boat started rocking.

"Wh-what's going on?" Hazuki asked as she held onto the side of the boat to keep steady.

Before the older girls could offer a response, a large figure shot up out of the water, just a couple feet away from their boat. The large, serpent-like creature was a dark green with red eyes.

"…Isn't that the local sea monster?" Hazuki asked.

"Seaweed!" Caout yelled, waving her arms and grinning at the creature.

"'Seaweed'?" Tide and Hazuki repeated.

To their utter disbelief, when the sea monster, Seaweed, looked down at Caout's voice, he actually flinched and seemed to freeze in place. Caout motioned with her hand for the animal to bring his head down, which he did, letting Caout pet him.

"…You tamed a sea monster?" Tide asked, rather stunned despite the fact she should be used to such things by now.

"Pretty much!" Caout said happily as she patted Seaweed's head, "One of the old guys took me fishing once and he popped up and tried to eat us!"

"And then?"

"Well, I thought he looked tasty so I punched him out! But then I felt bad so I named him Seaweed and let him go. Though I had to punch him a few more times because he was being troublesome…"

Hazuki stared at Caout, rather stunned, while Tide couldn't believe her partner's actions. Caout then turned to Seaweed.

"Okay, boy," she told the sea monster, "I'm off to be a pirate so I won't be around for a while…"

Seaweed seemed to brighten at those words.

"However," Caout went on, still grinning innocently, "If I get word that you've caused the **slightest** bit of trouble for the villagers, I'll change my mind about eating you, okay?"

Seaweed trembled at the warning and nodded frantically. The creature then dove underwater and out of sight.

"That's taken care of!" Caout said after Seaweed left, her hands on her hips as she stood tall, "Alright guys! We're finally off! We're going to do it…We're going to gather a crew and sail all the way to Raftel!"

"And we have such perfect conditions for our first day at sea," Tide noted.

"Don't say that!" Hazuki said, "You'll jinx it!"

"Cool it, Haz!" Caout giggled, "Honestly, what's the worst that can happen?"

* * *

"…I hate you sometimes, Caout…I really, really, _**really**_ do…"

Their situation was pretty…for lack of a better term, inconvenient. The girls were currently stranded in the middle of the ocean. Tide and Hazuki were kicking their legs to keep them afloat while Caout clung to their three buoyant backpacks, since she was a like a hammer in the waters. They were surrounded by the splinters of what _was_ their boat.

"I blame you, Listerra…" Tide growled, a vein popping out in her head, "You are an absolute moron!"

"Okay, okay!" Caout said, flinching at her partner's and sister's glares, "I admit, I was _a bit_ overexcited when I saw that dolphin…"

"Not a dolphin," Hazuki said, her eye twitching, "A shark…And not just any shark, a Torpedo Shark! They're so violent against people that they'll ram boats and destroy them, leaving their victims struggling in the waters and at their mercy!"

"Well, we're not at its mercy, are we?" Caout argued.

"Only because Tide burned it!"

"I meant to send it away with a gust of wind though," Tide admitted as she looked at her hand, "Damn, I _still_ can't get proper control…"

"At least _you_ didn't act like an idiot," Hazuki said.

"I get it!" Caout yelled, "It wasn't my smartest move-"

"Obviously," the other two said simultaneously.

"You are so lucky I didn't lose my glasses or my staff," Hazuki muttered, checking to make sure said items were indeed still on her person.

"Yeah, yeah," Caout said, adjusting her grip on the backpacks, "We know how long you spent designing and building that staff so that you could fight and how your eyes will go blurry at random times and blah, blah, blah…"

Hazuki and Tide both reached out and smacked the back of Caout's head.

"Oh, c'mon!" Caout said, "It could be worse."

Another double smack to the head.

"I'm serious! Dad said he got caught in a whirlpool on his first day! So, honestly, we really lucked out."

Smack.

"Quit it!" Caout yelled, rubbing her head, "…So, what do we do now?"

"You tell us, _Captain_," Tide replied in an calm tone, emphasizing the last word.

"No one likes a snarker, Nyshairyn…"

As Caout and Tide decided to start another one of their famous arguments, Hazuki got to work figuring out their situation. In Caout's bag was enough food to last them, if she rationed it out and kept Caout under control, for about five days. Tide's bag had enough water to last them about ten days, if also rationed properly.

Perhaps they could find a large enough piece of wood from the wreckage of their boat. Yes, then they could grab hold of that…Tide could use either her air or fire power to propel them forward while Hazuki gave directions using her maps and compass…

"…_Or_ we could board that ship," Hazuki muttered as she looked to her right.

At the word "ship" Caout and Tide ceased their fight, which had escalated to Tide flicking Caout's forehead every time the girl tried to make a comeback, and looked in the direction Hazuki was staring.

There was indeed a ship sailing about fifty feet away from them. It was a large vessel, about as large as a Marine ship. But, based on the music and laughter the trio could hear, they identified the vessel as being a passenger ship…

"Hey guys?" Caout said, excitement lacing her voice, "You know what this means?"

Tide and Hazuki looked at each other before shaking their heads no. Caout seemed to tremble with joy.

"CRUISE TIME!"

* * *

And thus, chapter two has come to an end. I liked this chapter, mostly because it was interesting for me to describe the teenage Caout, Tide and Hazuki, considering that I've only ever written about them as little kids. Plus, this was a nice way to show you readers the relationship between the three. Poor Tide and Hazuki have a lot to deal with when it comes to Caout…But they've had years of practice with her so they should be fine.

I made the brief moment where Makino's child is mentioned gender neutral because I can't tell whether it's a boy or girl. So I just made it that the kids said goodbye already is moping over the girls going away so that is why he/she isn't at the docks (Pathetic by me, I know…). Also, interesting how the girls encounter the sea monster on their first day out, just like Luffy did, huh? Though leave it to Caout to find another way to deal with Seaweed.

This is a nice place to stop because, like I said, these first couple of chapters are being used to get everyone used to the main trio before anything else. Don't worry, this will only last one or two more chapters and then we're really kicking things off!

Oh, here are some short character descriptions of the girls!

Listerra D. Caout**: Position:** Captain,** Age: **16,** Height: **5'8,** Hair: **Black,** Eyes: **Black,** Powers: **Gum-Gum Fruit (purposely not using them unless in extreme emergency), Hand-to-Hand Combat, **Dream: **To become known for who she is and not who she's related to

Nyshairyn Tide**: Position:** First Mate,** Age: **16,** Height: **5'9,** Hair: **Pink,** Eyes: **Cerulean Blue,** Powers: **Elementist of Fire and Air, Carrier, **Dream: **To stand by Caout, who rescued her in more ways than one, for the rest of her life

Monkey D. Hazuki**: Position:** Navigator,** Age: **15,** Height: **5'6,** Hair: **Orange,** Eyes: **Dark brown,** Powers: **Staff with detachable ball, **Dream: **To be acknowledged by the world, whether it be as Luffy's daughter or just as a member of her sister's pirate crew

Thanks for reading and I hope you offer me some reviews!


	3. We Are Pirates

Alright, looks like this will be the last chapter of the **Setting Sail Arc **after all! Let's see how our girls handle this little situation they're in.

Wow, I don't have much else to add….Oh well!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece at all…Are we clear on that? Not. At. All.

* * *

"'Cruise time'?" Tide repeated, "Listerra, what the hell are you on about?"

"I've always wanted to go on a cruise!" Caout said in response, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"…Caout…" Hazuki began slowly, "We've lived on a ship before, remember? Isn't that the same thing?"

"Of course not!" Caout replied, horrified by Hazuki's words, "Why would you say such a lie? C'mon, let's go!"

"Listerra, we're pirates now," Tide said, "Cruising is not something we do."

"Just because I'm a pirate, that doesn't mean I can't enjoy a good cruise!"

"Oh, forget it…Let's flag down the ship and-"

"NO!" Caout shouted, startling the others, "We're _pirates_! We have to sneak onboard!"

Tide and Hazuki, after silently shaking their heads at Caout's words, swam over to the side of the large passenger ship, Tide dragging Caout with one hand. They noticed the large amount of netting hanging off the side of the vessel.

"Alright, let's start climbing," Hazuki stated, "Caout, give each of us a backpack."

Once all three of them had put on their backpacks, Tide helped Caout over to the netting so that she could start climbing first. Slowly, quietly, the trio made their way up the net.

"Say, won't we freak people out if they spot us climbing up the net and onto the ship's deck?" Tide asked, "Not to mention, won't people be suspicious of three strangers suddenly appearing?"

"Oh, please! Like they know _everyone_ on the ship. And who said we're going onto the deck?" Hazuki asked, "Caout, peek through the windows and stop when you spot an empty room. We'll force open the window and enter through there."

Caout paused in her climbing and peered down at her sister, an eyebrow raised.

"Why do you sound like you've done this before?" she asked.

"Of course I did it before!" Hazuki replied, "How else do you think I got into that Marine ship I blew up when I was seven?"

The three resumed their climbing…Then…

"…Wait…_You blew up a Marine ship_?"

* * *

A couple hundred yards away from where the passenger ship was sailing…

"Captain!" came a shout from the crow's nest of a Barque, "I've spotted a ship off the port bow!"

The captain turned his gaze in the direction his underling had given. He pulled out a pocket telescope and peered through it.

"Ooh, a passenger ship," he said sinisterly, "There will be some lovely goodies for the taking…Let's go, men!"

"Aye-aye, sir!" the crew shouted in reply.

As they scrambled to ready the ship, the ship's flag waved…A flag bearing the skull and crossbones…

* * *

"Ooh! This place is pretty fancy!"

Caout, Tide and Hazuki had found themselves in a circular ballroom. The walls were hand painted with images of a beautiful day in a park. From the ceiling hang a large crystal chandelier. A twenty piece orchestra played in front of an ice sculpture of an angel holding a harp. Men wore crisp black suits and women were decked out in gowns of various colors and sparkling jewels. There was laughter in the air.

Hazuki stretched, feeling a bit sore from maneuvering herself through one of the windows a few minutes ago and landing hard on the floor when she got through. Tide was staring about but didn't seem affected by their surroundings, which puzzled Hazuki briefly.

Caout, however, was practically jumping. She turned her head this way and that, enjoying the sheer elegance of the room they were in…And then…

"BUFFET!" she shouted, causing the talking in the room to die down and the passengers of the ship to stare at her.

Before Tide or Hazuki could say a word, Caout raced off towards the buffet table, nearly mowing down fifty people in the process.

"Subtlety's not her strong point, is it?" Hazuki asked, putting a hand over her eyes and shaking her head.

"No, I would say not," Tide said with a sigh.

Tide noticed that while the other people had started talking again, many eyes were still trained on her and Hazuki or Caout, who was piling food in large piles on three plates. Tide couldn't blame them. After all, she and her friends looked nothing like what one would find on a ship like this.

Tide narrowed her eyes at the looks of disgust being thrown at her. She knew why…Her eyes gave her away as a "monstrous" Elementist. However, Tide supposed that no one was screaming or attacking her because they were scared of her, too prim and proper to do such or a mixture of both.

"Nyshairyn! Haz!"

Caout had returned to them, a plate in each hand and a third being held by her teeth. Hazuki stepped forward and grabbed the one in Caout's mouth, nearly falling forward because of the weight of it. More looks of horror and whispers were sent their way by the passengers.

"This food is great!" Caout exclaimed as she simultaneously shoved beef Wellington and chicken Marengo into her mouth, "Not as awesome as Sanji's but beggars can't be choosers!"

The girls were surprised they understood what Caout had just said with a full mouth but perhaps that was due to years of experience with Caout's lack of basic table manners…

"Glad you're enjoying yourself," Tide said as she took a step back from Caout, "But shouldn't we be figuring out what to do about our lack of a boat?"

"She's right, Caout," Hazuki said, frowning, "So what's the plan?"

Caout swallowed, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"…We eat-" she began, only to be cut off by Tide smacking her across the head.

"Ouch! Let me finish!" she cried indignantly, "We eat lunch and then we'll sneak off with a lifeboat. A big ship like this is bound to have more than enough…They won't miss one little boat."

Tide and Hazuki blinked as Caout went back to her food.

"…Did she just suggest something reasonable?" Tide asked in slight disbelief.

"Well, I guess it was bound to happen eventually," Hazuki said in surprise.

* * *

"How far are we?" the captain of the pirate vessel called out.

"About seventy yards, sir!" came the response.

"Perfect…Man the cannons!"

The cannons were put into position and cannonballs were put in them.

"Ready? …FIRE!"

* * *

Caout poured herself a fifth bowl of soup and joined Tide and Hazuki, who were seated at a table. The others stayed far away from the trio, both from disgust at Caout's manners and fear of Tide.

"Yum!" Caout said happily as she slurped her soup loudly.

"…I would've thought that you wouldn't have the room for all this food," Hazuki said, not looking at Caout for fear of wrecking her own appetite, "I mean, so long as you wear that necklace, you can't stretch…And that includes your stomach."

"Then again, Boss' appetite is just as bad as Luffy's," Tide pointed out, "So maybe it's just a D. trait?"

"I'm a D. too, Tide."

"Then, maybe _you're_ just as capable of eating-"

"Don't put that image in my head."

Caout was about to say something about the girls' insults against her when the ship suddenly shook violently. There were screams and the sounds of shattering plates.

"Aww," Caout moaned as her bowl of soup fell to the ground, "I was still eating that!"

"What on earth?" was all Hazuki could say as the ship rocked more and more violently.

When the shaking paused for a moment, the doors of the ballroom burst open, revealing a lone sailor. All eyes turned toward the panicked young man.

"PIRATES!" he shouted, "Pirates are here!"

Dead silence lasted for about ten seconds…Then, a woman screamed.

This set off everyone else, who proceeded to yell in terror and run about. Only the trio remained calm and seated at their table.

"Huh, how'd they find out about us?" Caout wondered.

"How the hell could they possibly mean _us_, Listerra?" Tide asked irritably.

"This _may_ put a damper on our escape," Hazuki murmured.

* * *

The pirates watched with glee as the cannonballs they fired landed in the waters around the ship, forcing the vessel to a standstill. Their own ship quickly made its way towards the passenger ship and pulled up alongside it.

"Alright, men!" the captain shouted, "Charge!"

* * *

Despite the screams of fear from the passengers of the ship, Caout could have sworn she heard a few cheers, although they were very soft. She was about to ask Tide and Hazuki if they had heard the noise when those cheers grew louder and louder.

The passengers froze in place and grew silent as the cheers reached a peak and the doors to the ballroom burst open and broke off their hinges. The trio stood up slowly and made their way to the front of the crowd of passengers to see who had entered.

"…Is that a gorilla?" Hazuki whispered, her face bearing a look that was both shocked and disgusted.

"No, I'm pretty sure he's human," Tide replied softly, "…Possibly…"

"Who knew a guy could have that much hair?" Caout added, not bothering to keep her voice down.

The man they were commenting on was the captain of the sneering band of pirates. He was covered from head to toe in thick, dark hair, only bits of skin visible here and there. He was rather taller, about a foot taller than Tide, and wore an extremely gaudy stereotypical pirate outfit…

…And yes, he did highly resemble a gorilla…

"Oh God," a woman next to Tide whispered, "It's _him_! _**Boran the Gorilla**_!"

"He's the ten million Berry pirate who's been terrorizing these seas since last year!" an old man added.

"His nickname is 'Gorilla'?" Hazuki questioned.

"It's definitely well-earned…" Tide answered.

Boran glared at the crowd who cowered before him. He smiled widely, bearing his yellowing, somewhat pointed teeth at his victims.

"Take what they have!" he ordered his men, who yelled in reply and stormed towards the passengers.

The trio remained where they were as the other passengers ran about to dodge the pirates. Hazuki held onto Caout's arm to keep herself from being knocked down and trampled. A pirate ran towards the sisters.

"Surrender what you have, cuties," he said, leering at them.

Caout instinctively pushed Hazuki behind her and stared down the pirate who was pointing a sword at them.

"Do we _look_ like we have anything of value on us?" she asked coolly.

The pirate paused, noting that the two girls weren't dressed like the other wealthy passengers. Then, he noticed they were wearing backpacks.

"Open those bags of yours then," he said.

"No way!" Caout shouted, "I don't care who you are, you're not taking my food!"

Behind them, Tide was being harassed by another pirate.

"I said surrender that necklace and that band on your arm, little wench," he ordered Tide, who just stood tall, her arms crossed in front of her.

"And **I** said I wouldn't," Tide replied, her voice low and calm, "Or is your memory so abysmal that you don't recall that?"

"I'm warning you," the pirate threatening Caout and Hazuki said, "Open those bags!"

"Give me your valuables!" the one with Tide yelled ferociously.

Caout and Tide glanced over their shoulders and made eye contact with each other. They nodded slightly before turning back to their opponents with smug grins.

"You want it?" Tide began.

"Come and get it," Caout finished.

The pirates moved towards them but the two partners were faster. Caout grabbed hold of her opponent's neck while Tide's grabbed her opponent by his shirt. The girls then spun around and slammed the two crewmates head-on into each other, knocking them out instantly, and dropped them on the ground.

The yell of pain the men gave before passing out caused the others in the room, pirate and passenger alike, to pause and stare at the three girls and the two knocked out pirates.

"What do you think you're doing?" Boran yelled angrily at the girls.

"They were being annoying creeps!" Caout shouted back.

Boran looked from his fallen underlings to the girls who were fixing him cold stares. To the trio's surprise, Boran started laughing, which sounded a lot like a primate hooting and hollering.

"Interesting!" he laughed, "You girls have spunk! Why don't you help me load the treasure on my ship and I'll make you part of my crew."

"Please," Tide scoffed, "As if we'll-"

"Alright then," Caout said, cutting her off, "We'll help."

Tide and Hazuki stared at Caout in stunned disbelief.

"W-w-**what**?" Hazuki stuttered, "Caout, you've got to be kidding me!"

Caout offered her a grin.

"We _are_ pirates, Haz!"

"Listerra," Tide growled, "I am not going to-"

Caout gave her a look, which effectively silenced her.

"I'm the captain," Caout said with a serious look, "And the captain says that we'll help."

* * *

"Excellent work, girls!" Boran exclaimed as Hazuki brought over the last of the treasure from the passenger ship and joined Caout and Tide where they stood on the deck of the pirate ship.

"I can't believe you, Listerra!" Tide hissed, "I thought you wanted to lead your own crew!"

"Of course I do," Caout replied in a rather jovial tone.

"Well, what the hell is this then?" Hazuki asked in a pissed off tone.

"Would you two shut it?" Caout said, "Like I said before, we are pirates…"

"Say, this bag seems pretty big!" Boran said as he picked up the sack that held all the treasure stolen from the passenger ship.

"Yeah, we grabbed a ton of stuff!" Caout said giddily, "Haz, how much would you say that is?"

"About three million Berries," Hazuki muttered, still mad over the situation.

Boran grinned at the sack…Three million Berries…As he laughed over his fortune, he felt the bag leave his grasp. He looked down and saw Caout walking towards the side of the ship with the sack of treasure.

"Hey, you!" he yelled, trying to hide his surprise that such a skinny girl could lift a large sack of treasure like that, "Where do you think you're going?"

Caout looked back with an expression of pure innocence…before tossing the sack overboard.

The pirates dropped their jaws…That girl…She had just thrown three million Berries overboard, as though it was garbage!

Tide and Hazuki ran to the side of the ship, shocked that Caout would just throw away so much money. They blinked when they saw that she hadn't thrown it into the _ocean_…No, she had thrown it into one of the lifeboats on the passenger ship!

The weight of the treasure caused the lifeboat to break free of what was holding it to the vessel and plummet into the waters, where it floated, still carrying its valuable load.

"Well, shall we get going?" Caout asked with a smile as she also grabbed their backpacks and tossed them onto the lifeboat as well.

"Wait," Hazuki said, "You're telling me we helped the pirates steal from the passengers so that we could steal from the pirates who were stealing from the passengers?"

"…Yeah, sure, let's go with that!" Caout said, having not followed what her sister just said.

The trio turned back towards the pirates, who were glaring at them. Boran's face was red from his anger and he was shaking.

"No one steals from me!" he shouted, "Grab those bitches!"

"Show time!" Caout said with a giggle as she ran forward to meet the charging pirates.

One tried to stab her with his sword. Caout, using her forearm, hit the blunt side of the blade and loosened it from the man's grip. Caout grabbed onto the hilt of the sword and slammed it into the man's face.

Another pirate, one wearing a cloak, tried to hit Caout with a club. She sidestepped out of the way and buried the sword into his cloak, pinning him to the deck.

When another man ran at her, Caout kicked up and her foot made contact with his jaw, making him fall back.

Meanwhile, Tide was casually dodging her own opponents.

"Die!" five men shouted as they each fired their guns at her.

Tide rolled her eyes and put her hand up. She casually flicked her hand, causing the bullets to stop in midair, about an inch away from her. She took the bullets in her hand and grinned at the stunned pirates.

"What?" she said, "Never met an Elementist before?"

Before they could reply, Tide threw the bullets at them, using her wind powers to give them direction and speed. Right before they made contact, Tide snapped her fingers and set each bullet ablaze. The men screamed as they were hit.

Tide then spun around to face another group that was running towards her.

"Wind Scythe!" she said as she waved her arm quickly in front of her, as though she was clearing things off of an invisible table.

A wave of wind flew towards the pirates and slashed them the same way as if they had been hit by a sword.

At another part of the ship, a group of pirates were descending on Hazuki, who held her staff in her hands.

"What're you going to do with that little toy, kiddie?" a pirate asked.

"You know," Hazuki said as she pressed a button on the ball attached to the staff and started twirling the staff like a baton, "Three years ago, I would've been terrified to fight you guys…"

"And now?" another pirate said.

Hazuki grinned and stopped twirling the staff.

"I can take you…Batter up!"

Hazuki gave her staff a small twist, detaching the ball from it. She tossed it up high into the air. A couple pirates charged at her but she used the staff the hit them both across the face with all her might, knocking them back. As the ball came down, Hazuki hit it with the staff as though she were playing baseball.

The staff made contact with a particular button on the ball, causing the ball to release the air gathered from when Hazuki was twirling the staff and speed to the group of pirates, slamming into two of them.

"You missed the rest of us!" a pirate bragged as the ball zoomed away from them.

"Morons," Hazuki said, "It'll come back…And you'll be in for a shock."

Indeed, the ball hit another pirate in the head and ricocheted back towards the men harassing Hazuki. But the men weren't worried, seeing that the ball was slowing down, having run out of air to use.

"Aw, what's it going to do?" a pirate asked in a baby voice, "Tap us to death?"

"Fun fact," Hazuki said in a confident voice, "While the staff was collecting air, the twirling was also messing around with the charge of air molecules…Meaning it was collecting a little something extra."

The ball came into contact with a pirate and another button was pressed. The result was the other pirates screaming as a strong jolt of electricity coursed through all of them. When the pirates collapsed, Hazuki walked over and reconnected the ball to the staff.

"Static," she said, "I _did_ say you'd be in for a shock."

* * *

Boran stared in shock as all of his men were being taken down by three teenage girls. He clenched his teeth as he saw the black haired girl that started the mess punch out one of his underlings and flip another over her and slam him into the ground.

"YOU BITCH!" he shouted as he pulled out a gun and fired.

Caout turned at the yell and the bullet made contact with her chest.

"NO!" Hazuki shouted.

"Damn it!" Tide said as she knocked down two opponents with a gust of wind.

The grin on Boran's face slowly faded as Caout remained standing and was simply staring at her chest in confusion.

"What the-?" she said as she felt a sensation that she hadn't felt in years.

Boran's underlings gaped as Caout's skin stretched out…Suddenly, the bullet flew out and her skin returned to normal as the bullet slammed into the ground.

"SHE STRETCHED!" the pirates yelled in horror.

"I STRETCHED!" Caout yelled, confused and pissed.

Caout then noticed why she stretched…Her seastone necklace wasn't on her…

"You've got to be kidding me," she growled as her eyes scanned the ground and saw the green stone lying a few feet away, "Of all the lousy crap…"

As Caout took a step forward, a shot rang out and hit the ground near her foot. She spun around and glared at Boran.

"Stay where you are, freak!" he ordered.

"Shut it, monkey boy!" Caout yelled, "I'm in a bad mood!"

Boran shot a few more times but Caout moved out of the way.

"Fine," she said, "Let's end this crap."

Caout pulled her arm back as Boran got ready to fire again.

"Die, you little-"

Caout shot her arm forward, almost forgetting to not shout out "Gum-Gum Pistol", which could have told the pirates that she was related to Luffy, though her stretching was already pushing her luck.

The pirates stared as Caout's arm stretched out and collided with Boran, sending him flying through the masts, off the ship and into the water. Caout then turned to glare at the other pirates.

"Does anyone else want to fight on?" she asked.

The pirates dropped their weapons and backed far away from Caout, Tide and Hazuki. Caout muttered under her breath as she walked over and retrieved her necklace, putting it back on.

"Fell off during one of my flip," she said angrily, "I need to find a better way of keeping it on…"

"Why are you angry?" Tide asked, "If you hadn't lost it, you would've died, Listerra!"

"No, I wouldn't have," Caout replied, dismissing the concern, "I just wasn't paying attention. And I'm mad because I swore to only use my powers in an emergency only!"

"If you get caught off guard like that while you're wearing your necklace, it can be fatal, Caout!" Hazuki exclaimed, looking at her big sister worriedly.

"By the way," Tide said before Caout could argue with Hazuki, "You seem to have a good grip on your powers for someone who hasn't used them in three years…"

The girls stared at Caout, who was fidgeting, suspiciously.

"Well…I never used it in _battle_…And…I mean…"

"Forget it," Tide said, "We have a boat and treasure, let's get going!"

"Yeah, our adventure must continue, right?" Hazuki added.

Caout grinned. The three then jumped off the pirate ship, and landed in the lifeboat, though Hazuki's landing was not quite as graceful as the other girls'.

Using the oars and with Hazuki's instructions, the trio set off, with Caout and Tide rowing.

* * *

Boran's underlings muttered to each other about their terrible defeat at the hands of three teenagers. Some took care of Boran, who had been retrieved from the water and was lying on the deck, out cold and bloody from that one punch.

As the other pirates were busy, one pirate stepped away to the other, deserted part of the ship. He rolled back his sleeve, revealing a watch. He pressed the face of the watch, which started to glow red and then turned green.

The man then ran and jumped off the ship, unnoticed by anyone else. But instead of landing _in_ the water, he landed _on top_ of it. He crossed his arms in front of him and stared in the direction the girls had rowed off in.

"An Elementist, a girl with a staff and a Devil Fruit user," he said to himself, "No…There's only one person with that kind of Devil Fruit…So she's a Blood Fruit user…And they have three million Berries with them."

A grin spread across his face.

"Heh…This will be so easy…"

* * *

And done! Wow, another long one but I didn't want to add another chapter to this arc. And thus the **Setting Sail Arc** has come to its end…But the next arc, the title of which I'll reveal next chapter, will be very entertaining, I'm sure!

By the way, I'm sure you guys are wondering about the whole Hazuki blowing up a Marine ship thing. Well, that is mentioned in my story, Straw Hat Legacies: The Name's Caout in chapter 21, if you're interested.

Now, I'm sure you non-Straw Hat Legacies readers don't know what Blood Fruit users are. This is a term I use for those who got their Devil Fruit powers, not from eating the actual fruit but through genetics. Also, Caout said that shouting the attack "could" have revealed her relation to Luffy rather than "would" because I'm going off the idea that despite Luffy's fame, not everyone is aware of his powers, especially those outside the Grand Line and New World.

Thanks for reading and please, please, please leave me a comment! Pretty, pretty please?


	4. The Man With Yoyos

So, are we enjoying ourselves, dear readers? Well, let's keep going with the story, shall we? Here is the second arc of this story, which will be called the **One, Two, Three Arc**. What's that? The name doesn't make any sense? Don't worry! It will soon enough!

Disclaimer: As if I own One Piece…I'm not a creative mastermind like Oda!

* * *

"Rowing, rowing, on the ocean blue~! Rowing, rowing, is fun for me and you~!"

"Listerra, I swear I'm gonna push you overboard if you don't stop singing!"

Caout pouted at Tide, whose back was facing her since she too was rowing.

"Well, excuse me for trying to liven things up, Nyshairyn!" Caout said, "You two haven't said anything for ten minutes…It's boring!"

"We haven't said anything because I've been trying to find out where the hell we are!" Hazuki exclaimed as she poured over map after map while sitting on top of the bag of treasure they stole.

"You disappoint me, Haz," Caout said, clicking her tongue, "I thought you would be as skilled as Mom but it looks like that's not the case…"

Hazuki shot her a glare.

"We wouldn't be lost if you hadn't turned the boat into that freak current."

"To be fair," Caout said, "You said to go to port…How was I supposed to know if you meant my port or your port?"

"Port is the same no matter what!" Hazuki cried, "It's based off of the ship, not the person!"

"If you ladies are quite finished!" Tide said impatiently, "…Haz, any idea where we're going?"

Hazuki frowned as she turned another map this way and that. She groaned and folded the paper.

"I can't figure this out…" she sighed, "I'm really _not_ like Mom…"

"Yeah, but you're our navigator," Caout said with a shrug, "You'll figure it out soon enough!"

Caout then proceeded to whistle the song she had been singing earlier right in Tide's ear.

"Haz…" Tide murmured, "How do you feel about being an only child?"

* * *

The trio had been on the waters for several hours but they were still no closer to locating any land…Tired and hungry, Caout and Tide stopped rowing and pulled out food from Caout's backpack.

Caout devoured sandwich after sandwich but didn't seem too excited, which was a first.

"Something wrong, Listerra?" Tide asked as she passed Hazuki a sandwich.

"It's moments like this that make me miss Sanji's cooking," she said sadly as she swallowed a fifth, rather bland, sandwich.

"I know," Hazuki said, pulling the backpack away before Caout could eat all of the food, "But Sanji isn't here so we have to rely on ourselves for food."

"You know, getting a cook to join us first isn't a bad idea," Tide noted. She held up one of the sandwiches, "After all, the three of us aren't exactly skilled in the culinary department…"

Caout smiled widely at those words and bounced a little.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! A cook! That would be great!"

"Alright, we'll get a cook," Hazuki agreed, chuckling at Caout's happiness, "But first, let's try and find some civilization!"

The older girls nodded in agreement and finished their meal with a few sips from their water canteens when Hazuki spotted something a few feet away.

"Hey…What's that?"

Caout and Tide followed the direction of her gaze and saw something…_yellow_.

"Hold up," Tide said as she squinted her eyes, "I think…I think that's a person!"

Caout and Tide rowed faster and saw that it truly was a person, a handsome young man with messy golden hair. He was pale and lay motionless on a plank in the water.

"Hey, buddy?" Caout said, reaching out to poke the man's head, "Are you alive?"

The girls received a groan in response.

"He's alive," they said at the same time.

Caout started to pull him into the lifeboat while Hazuki and Tide tried to make as much room as possible for him in their little boat.

The man was still out cold. He wore a camouflage tank top with a black blazer over it, dark blue jeans and sneakers, all of which were soaked from his time in the water. Hazuki noticed he wore a thin silver chain with a charm of the number one with a miniscule ruby in the center hanging off of it.

_That…That looks familiar…_she thought. _But why?_

"Stand back, you two," Tide ordered as she rubbed her hands together.

Caout and Hazuki watched her warily as she created a small flame in her hands. Tide noticed their expressions and frowned.

"Calm down, I won't lose control of this," she assured them.

Slowly, Tide waved the flame a few inches above the man's body. She knew that if his body warmed up too quickly, he could die.

"Poor thing," Hazuki said softly, "Maybe he was part of a shipwreck?"

Caout stared at the man with a curious expression on her face. She leaned down and put her mouth near his ear.

"Hey," she whispered, "Why are you pretending to be unconscious?"

Tide raised an eyebrow at that.

"What're you talking about, Listerra?" she asked, thinking Caout was just being an idiot.

Caout held up a hand to silence her, a mischievous expression on her face. She took a deep breath.

"_**WAKE UP**_!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"AHHH!" the young man shouted as he sat up suddenly, nearly causing Tide to burn him, and clapped his hands over his ears, "For the love of…"

"Told you he was faking it!" Caout said with smirk as the man rubbed his still ringing ear.

"Heh, heh," he chuckled, a playful look in his dark green eyes, "Was it _that_ obvious?"

"Wait, you _were_ faking it?" Hazuki asked, "What for?"

The man scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"I was a bit worried that you guys were pirates," he explained, "There were a bunch of them sailing around here earlier and I wasn't in the mood to die at their hands…"

Caout nodded but Hazuki and Tide thought that something was off…

"Man," he sighed, falling back on his elbows, "I've been out here for three days now…I'm starving."

Hazuki reached into Caout's backpack and pulled out a couple of sandwiches while Tide handed the man a canteen of water.

"It's really bland," Caout said as the man took a bite of the sandwich, "But if I was starving, I wouldn't mind!"

The man chewed slowly before reaching into his blazer. Tide got on edge and clenched her fist, ready for action.

"It's not bad," he said, "Just needs a couple little touches."

Tide relaxed, just barely, when the man pulled out two small vials from an inside pocket. The girls watched as he sprinkled a bit of the contents of the red vial onto the sandwich. He then shook out a tiny bit of the contents of the green vial as well.

"That should do the trick," he said as he put the vials back. He noticed Caout looking at the sandwich with a puzzled expression and ripped it in half, "Try it!"

"Listerra, wait-" Tide said, only for Caout to pay no attention and bite into the sandwich.

Caout froze and her eyes widened. Hazuki, noticing the action, reached for her staff, about to beat the man senseless for poisoning Caout.

"SO GOOD!" Caout suddenly shouted through a full mouth.

Tide and Hazuki watched with jaws dropped as Caout happily devoured the sandwich, making the man laugh.

"I'm glad you like it!" he said with a grin.

"What was that stuff you used?" Hazuki asked, still wary.

"Some crushed red pepper and basil," he explained, "They complement what was already in the sandwich and brought out some hidden flavors."

"Man, that was like something San-I mean, our old cook would make," Caout said, changing her words just in time.

The man was surprised when Caout clasped his hands in hers. She beamed at him.

"You!" she said, "You've _gotta_ join my crew!"

"Y-your crew?" he questioned.

"Yeah! My pirate crew!"

The man blinked.

"Caout, you don't just ask random people to join the crew!" Hazuki scolded, "Especially people we know nothing about, who could murder us!"

"No offense," Tide added in passing to the man.

"None taken," the man said with a laugh, pulling his hands out of Caout's grasp and rolling back a sleeve to reveal his watch.

"That must've been damaged in the water," Tide said sympathetically.

"Nah, it'll take a lot more than water to break down this old thing," the man said as he pressed the face and it glowed red.

"That's a weird watch," Hazuki stated as the clock face turned green.

"One of a kind, for sure," the man said, "Well, unfortunately, becoming a pirate isn't in my immediate plans so I'll have to turn down your offer, Miss."

"What?" Caout exclaimed, highly let down.

"But I do want to repay you all for your kindness…Hmm…You guys seem like you could use a laugh. Shall I give you a little show?"

"Wait, what?" Tide asked, bewildered as the man stood up and reached into his blazer again.

The girls frowned and stared as he pulled out…a yo-yo…

"What the…?" they all said.

"Just watch," the man said with a crooked smile.

The girls observed as the man took the yo-yo and swung it around his index finger. The yo-yo landed on the string and he swung it back and forth.

"This is known as the Man on the Flying Trapeze," he explained, "A rather simple trick."

The girls politely clapped. It was a nice trick.

The man then threw the yo-yo to the floor of the lifeboat and the girls giggled as it rolled towards them and back to his hand.

"That one is called Walking the Dog."

The girls then watched, unable to say a single word, as the man then performed a series of trapeze-like tricks combined with throws and other complex movements.

"That," he said, smiling at the girls' stunned faces, "That is known as the Kwijibo…"

Caout and Hazuki laughed and clapped excitedly. Tide smiled too at the cool tricks. The man reached into his blazer once more and pulled out two more yo-yos. The girls waited patiently for what he would do next.

"And this…" he said casually, "Well, I like to call it Ensnaring the Princesses."

"Ensnaring the…What?" Hazuki said.

The man let out a short laugh and threw the yo-yos at the girls. They were caught off guard and didn't react as yo-yos spun around and around, tying all three of them up.

"Why you lousy-" Tide began to say, only for the yo-yo she was tied up with to blow a purple gas in her face.

Her eyelids grew heavy and she fell back, completely out cold.

"Sleeping gas," the blonde man said.

"What the hell is this?" Hazuki asked furiously, trying to pull free of her bindings.

"The string is woven with iron," the man explained, "Meaning it is very hard to break."

"I feel sick," Caout said, very pale and looking like she's about to hurl.

"Ah, unlucky you…" the man said, shaking his head slowly, "The string of that one is made of seastone. Not very nice for those with Devil Fruit powers, wouldn't you say?"

As the girls lay on the floor of the boat, unable to move, the man looked over the side and grinned at whatever he saw there. He walked over and grabbed the large bag of treasure.

"There's three million Berries in here, right?" he asked in a rascally tone, "Well, you wouldn't mind if I **borrowed** it, would you?"

The man then tossed the sack overboard but, to Hazuki's immense confusion, there wasn't a splash.

"Thanks so much for your kindness, ladies!" he said with a laugh, "Maybe we can play again someday? You can keep those yo-yos!"

The man then jumped out of the boat but, once again, there was no splash…

…_**What the hell had just happened**_…?

* * *

A few minutes later, Tide came to and was aware of a familiar voice yelling in her ear.

"Hazuki…" she groaned, "You're making me deaf…"

"Tide, get us loose!" Hazuki yelled.

Tide shook her head so that she could be properly awake. She concentrated and formed a fire on her fingertips. Tide brushed the fire against her bindings, burning off the string. She rubbed her arms briefly before doing undoing the strings tying up Caout and Hazuki.

"I can't believe that bastard!" Caout shouted as her nausea went away, "We 'save' him and look what he does!"

"Where did he go?" Tide asked in a dark tone.

"That's what I don't get!" Hazuki said, "He jumped off the boat with our treasure but I didn't hear a splash! I don't know how he escaped."

As Caout cracked her back and Hazuki pondered the man's escape, Tide had a blank look on her face.

"So we were tied up…" she stated.

"Uh-huh," Caout replied.

"And robbed…"

"We were," Hazuki growled.

"…By a man with yo-yos…."

"…Yeah…" Caout and Hazuki answered.

"…That's just sad."

* * *

Here's a nice place to end this chapter! My, my, my….Our poor girls were robbed so easily…And beaten up by yo-yos? They're never going to live this down if word gets out.

Let me explain a couple of things. First, Hazuki is pretty decent at navigation but she's not as good as Nami. If they go a bit off track, Hazuki will get pretty flustered. Plus, this is the first time Hazuki had to give directions without her mother's assistance so let's cut her a break.

Second, all of the tricks the blonde man did are actual yo-yo tricks that you can find videos of online.

Third, Caout was taken down by the seastone string of the yo-yo because she is only able to handle the seastone of her necklace. Any more will take her down, just like seastone is supposed to do.

Please read and review, everyone! I would love to hear what you have to say about this story so far! Thank you!


	5. Tropski Island

Well, we're moving right along, aren't we? Very nice pace we've got going here…Like I mentioned before, I would appreciate any and all reviews! Reviews make me feel good about the story and encourage me to keep going. So please, review the story!

Disclaimer: I only own the OCs I made up here…Everything else belongs to Oda.

* * *

Caout and Tide rowed in silence while Hazuki looked over her maps to see if she could figure out where they were. The quiet was broken now and then by Caout muttering under her breath about the "betrayal" of that man with the yo-yos.

"Can't believe him…" she said angrily, "And I wanted him for our crew…Well, he can go to hell!"

"There, there, Listerra," Tide said with a sigh, "We'll find someone else to be our cook, okay?"

"…Fine," she replied, "But it better be a boy."

Tide looked over her shoulder at Caout and even Hazuki glanced up at that.

"What?" Caout asked when she saw their faces.

"You shouldn't be making a crew with people you're only attracted to," Hazuki stated.

"I know that," Caout said.

"But you just-" Tide began, only to be cut off by Caout.

"Look, I've always been part of co-ed groups. Hell, I feel more comfortable with _guys_ than with _girls_! All I'm saying is that if we don't get a guy in this crew soon, I'll lose my mind."

Hazuki opened her mouth to retort but Tide held up a hand to silence her.

"Haz, there's a certain point where you should just stop questioning Listerra," Tide said, "We've reached that point."

Hazuki let out a tired sigh and was about to turn her attention back to the maps when she saw something on the horizon. At the same time, her vision grew incredibly blurry that she could barely see a thing.

"Ah, it's that time again," she said as she disconnected her glasses from her necklace and put them on.

"You have the weirdest eyes in the world," Caout said.

"Shut up," Hazuki responded as she looked out towards the horizon, "Oh, you guys are gonna like this!"

"What?" Caout and Tide asked.

"There's an island, straight ahead!" Hazuki said happily.

"Yeah!" Caout exclaimed as she gripped the oars tightly, "Land ho!"

Before Hazuki or Tide could say a word, Caout started rowing at an insanely fast rate, making the lifeboat speed towards the island. Hazuki held onto the sides of the boat to keep from falling backwards while Tide yelled at Caout.

"Listerra, you moron!" she shouted as the island drew closer, "Slow down! We're going to-"

Tide was cut off when the lifeboat slammed into the shore of the island, causing the girls to fly out of the boat and slam into the sand.

"I think I heard something crack," Hazuki moaned as she sat up and looked herself over, "Where are my glasses?"

Tide got to her knees and spit out a mouthful of sand. She then looked this way and that and saw Caout lying on her back.

"It's moments like this that make me regret having ever met you," she said as Caout stood up and brushed the sand off her clothes.

"Aw, you don't mean that, Nyshairyn!" Caout replied as she took off her hat and checked it over for any marks before putting back on in her usual way.

"How's the boat?" Hazuki asked after she found her glasses, which were, thankfully, unbroken.

The trio looked to where the boat lay and immediately grimaced.

There was a huge crack that ran across the middle of the vessel, which was half imbedded in the sand.

"Hey, maybe we can fix it!" Caout suggested optimistically when Tide and Hazuki glared at her.

A wave came in and crashed into the boat, causing it to snap in half. The girls could only watch as half of the boat was washed out to sea.

"…Or not…"

Hazuki groaned as she ran to retrieve the back packs before they too were washed out. Tide smacked Caout across the head and then looked around.

The island had a tropical atmosphere to it. There were large palm trees and huts all around. There was an outdoor market, where vendors were selling their wares. All in all, the place was colorful and warm.

"'Welcome to Tropski Island'," Tide read off of a sign that hung over the nearby docks.

"At least if we had to get stranded anywhere," Hazuki started, giving Caout an icy stare, "It's on a populated island…Damn, I could only save my backpack and Tide's…"

"Don't you two worry," Caout said as Hazuki and Tide put on their backpacks, "This is all just a part of the pirating experience!"

"Since when does the pirating experience involve losing a boat two days after we lost the first one?" Tide asked no one in particular as the trio headed off to explore the island.

* * *

"I like this island!"

The trio sat around a table outside a café, drinking jasmine tea and eating cakes, after having walked around the market area. Hazuki had to keep a tight leash on Caout, who wanted to buy nearly everything she was offered by the vendors.

Instead of buying trinkets that would probably break before the day was over if left with Caout, Hazuki bought some bottles of water to refill the canteens and a change of clothing for each of them. It was far too hot on the island for the girls to keep wearing what they had on. So they gave their clothes to woman who was offering a cheap cleaning service and put on the outfits that Hazuki had bought.

Hazuki wore a knee length, sleeveless white dress with a blue flower pattern on it and a pair of white shorts underneath. She kept her belt on around her waist so that it could hold her staff. Tide had on a dark red t-shirt with a picture of a black fleur-de-lys on it and tan shorts. Caout wore an orange tank top that had the word PUNK written across it in black Gothic letters and form fitting black shorts. For once she wore her hat on top of her head, in order to keep the sun out of her eyes.

"I can't wait until we have a proper ship," Hazuki said as she took a sip of tea, "We can't carry around all our stuff in backpacks forever."

"We don't have that much to carry," Caout said as she took another bite of chocolate cake.

"Well, we will soon. Food supplies, treasure, new clothes…"

"New clothes? What's wrong with what we have?"

Hazuki stared at Caout with an incredulous expression.

"You're not telling me that you'd prefer to wear one outfit, are you?" she asked.

"I think I know what Listerra's saying," Tide said, "A change of outfit is fine now and then but it's nice to have a signature look…And our signature looks are in the wash right now."

"Bingo," Caout said, nodding her head.

"Fine, I'll be sure to buy as few new clothes for you two as possible," Hazuki said, "But I'm perfectly fine with not having a signature look."

Caout shook her head, as though this was a travesty.

"STOP! THIEVES!"

The girls looked towards the dock, where the shout had come from. As they did, three figures zoomed by them.

"Stop them!" a portly man shouted, "They stole all the goods from my ship!"

Caout, Tide and Hazuki turned around and looked in the direction the three figures, definitely the thieves, were running.

They were three men, all the same height and each carrying a large bag. One had black hair, the second had red hair and the third…

"Wait…" the girls whispered when the third man looked back over his shoulder.

Messy blonde hair…Green eyes…That crooked grin…

"THE YO-YO MAN!" the girls yelled, standing up suddenly.

"You bastard, give us back our treasure!" Caout screamed as she ran after them, Hazuki and Tide following suit after they grabbed their backpacks.

* * *

The girls had been running for several minutes with Caout having a considerable lead…But they had lost track of the men as they went through the forest.

"Damn it!" Tide hissed, "Listerra, stop! We've lost them!"

Caout did stop and waited for the other two to catch up to her. They caught their breaths and continued to walk through the forest, noting that it was getting less and less dense…

"Whoa…" Caout said once they stepped out of the forest.

Tide and Hazuki also gaped at what they saw…The scene before them was not the same tropical paradise they were hanging out in moments earlier.

There were large square buildings of brick and stone. The roads were made of asphalt. There was garbage littering the ground and people in shabby clothing walking about. The mood was dull and dark.

"Did we run onto a different island?" Caout wondered.

"It looks like the inland area is more industrial that the outskirts…" Tide said as the girls walked on.

"I would've never thought this place was on the same island as the tropical area," Hazuki said, sticking close to Caout.

The girls saw a loaf of bread fall down from the window of one of the large brick buildings. They scrambled back when people started swarming the small loaf. Hazuki could only gasp as she saw kids, probably no older than eight or nine, joining the group. Caout grabbed Hazuki and Tide by their arms and dragged them away as the sounds of fighting grew louder.

"C'mon," she said, "Let's go back to the tropical side, get our clothes, steal a boat and leave this place."

Tide would have questioned Caout's unusually solemn attitude but couldn't since she agreed with her. The girls were about to head the other way when they spotted three familiar men holding large bags a few feet ahead.

The girls noted that the three looked almost exactly like each other, the only differences between them being their clothes and their hair colors. They also saw that the other two wore necklaces just like the blonde did, except the redhead's necklace was the number two and the black haired guy's necklace had the number three, both with rubies in their centers.

"YOU!" Caout yelled, pointing at the men, who stopped.

The blonde blinked, surprised, before smiling.

"Ladies!" he said with a chuckle, "Fancy seeing you again so soon!"

"You know them?" the red head asked.

"The three million Berries," he answered.

"Ah, so we have you girls to thank for that," the black haired man said.

"Give that treasure back!" Hazuki shouted, "We worked hard to steal that!"

"Hey, I worked harder," the blonde claimed, "Do you know how cold that water was? I could've gotten hypothermia!"

Caout decided the time for talk was over and rushed at them. The men gave each other a look and nodded before running off in directions.

"I've got yo-yo boy! You two get the others!" Caout ordered as she ran straight ahead.

"Right!" Tide and Hazuki stated, running after the black haired man and the redhead respectively.

* * *

The black haired man ran through alleyway after alleyway, Tide not too far behind.

"I'm warning you!" she shouted, "Stop or you're going to get your ass burned!"

"Oh, am I?" he asked, looking over his shoulder, "Well, stopping is not in my immediate plans."

"You little-" Tide muttered as she raised her hand, "Take this!"

She concentrated so that she could create a ball of fire…However…

"Oh, come on!" she shouted as she saw it was a ball of air being formed, "_Now_ of all times?"

The black haired boy used the distraction to drop his bag, reach into his jacket and pull out a small bottle and a little plastic wand, which he stuck into the bottle.

Tide looked up and saw the man facing her and blowing a large bubble, which floated towards her.

"Really?" she said, "_That's_ what you've got?"

Tide ran forward and collided with the bubble. To her surprise, it didn't pop. No, instead the bubble grew larger and incased her inside of it.

Tide was about to yell when she felt faint of breath. She coughed and breathed a little heavier but she couldn't get her breath back. The orb of air that was still on her hand dwindled and died completely. Tide pounded against the wall of the bubble but she was growing weaker and weaker.

"Goodnight," the black haired man said as Tide collapsed inside the bubble.

The bubble popped and deposited the unconscious Tide on the ground.

* * *

"Ha!" Hazuki shouted triumphantly as she trapped the redheaded man in a dead end alleyway, "I've got you!"

"So what're you going to do?" he asked, leaning against the wall, acting as though he didn't have a care in the world, "Scold me to death?"

"Hey, I've got _**this**_!" Hazuki said, pointing at the staff that hung off her belt, "Don't make me use it on you!"

"Yeah?" the redhead replied, "Well, I have this."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small container. Hazuki kept a hand on her staff as he took out…clay…

The redhead stretched the clay while Hazuki stood still, puzzled. Not wanting to see what was going to happen, Hazuki ran at the man, her staff drawn. The redhead smirked and charged at her.

"What the-?" Hazuki said as he threw one end of the clay at her, hitting her arm.

Before she could react, the redhead wrapped the clay around her body and grabbed her. Hazuki grunted as her back was pressed against the wall.

"You can stick around there for a while," the redhead said as he picked up the bag he had dropped, "Later, girlie!"

Hazuki strained but found that she couldn't break free, neither from the wall nor the clay.

* * *

"Get back here you lousy piece of crap!"

"Now, now…That's not the language a lady should use!"

"Screw you!"

The blonde man and Caout were racing down the main street of the town. Caout gritted her teeth and was angrily trying to reach the blonde. Meanwhile, the man was laughing brightly, apparently enjoying the chase.

"Say, Miss?" the blonde asked, looking over his shoulder, "Do you like toys?"

Caout frowned at that, wondering what the man was getting at. He reached into his blazer, sending Caout on edge.

"How do you feel about nutcrackers?" he asked.

The blonde stopped, as did Caout. She watched as he wound up a nutcracker, probably eight inches tall, and set it on the ground. It slowly walked towards her, opening and closing its mouth.

"Umm…" Caout said, too intrigued by the nutcracker to notice the blonde pulling out several more and sending them towards her, "It's…It's kind of creepy…"

"They are, aren't they?" the blonde replied, causing Caout to notice that there were ten more joining the first, "But they get the job done."

"Job?" Caout asked when the first nutcracker bumped into her foot.

She reached down to pick it up when the nutcracker suddenly chomped down on her hand…Hard.

"OW!" she yelled, trying to shake it off. But the nutcracker hung on tight, "What the hell?"

Then, the other nutcrackers, apparently set off by the first one, jumped towards Caout and each bit down hard on some part of her body, each refusing to let go.

"Ow! Get off of me, you-Ow! Quit it! I said let-Ow! God, that hurts!"

Caout spun around and shook, trying to dislodge the toys, while the blonde laughed at the scene. He stopped when he saw the black haired man and the redhead come towards him. They noticed Caout's distress.

"Really?" the black haired man said, "The nutcrackers? You barely even modified them."

"They're _**nutcrackers**_," the blonde man said, "You don't need to change much to make them scary as hell."

"Hey, you!" Caout shouted, still trying to get the nutcrackers off of her without ripping her skin off as well, "What did you do with the girls?"

"No worries, Miss," the redhead said with a smirk, "They're waiting for you to retrieve them…And I would hurry. The sun's setting and this place isn't safe at night for pretty, incapacitated young ladies."

Caout growled, furious at the men and hoping Tide and Hazuki were okay. Well, Tide probably would be fine but Hazuki…

"That was short but fun!" the blonde said as the three men turned around, "See you, Miss! I get the feeling will run into each other again pretty soon…"

The men ran off, leaving Caout alone and stuck with the nutcrackers, Tide unconscious in an alleyway and Hazuki stuck to a wall…

* * *

Another chapter done! These three young men are pretty interesting, huh? Especially their choice of weaponry. Don't worry, more about them will be revealed next chapter…Particularly their names. The toys they used on the girls will also be better explained next chapter.

Oh, let's explain a bit of the timeline of what happened. Now, the whole thing about the girls setting sail, losing their boat and the thing with the passenger ship and Boran was all from early morning to late afternoon. The thing with the blonde man took place the next day in the afternoon. This chapter's events took place the day after that.

The girls were taken down easily because they didn't expect what would happen with the toys and the toys are just that annoying to deal with. Plus, Caout let the nutcracker come to her because she is like her dad and I know Luffy would get distracted by something like that.

The title of the arc starting to make sense to you yet?

Thank you for reading and please, like I said before, leave me a review! Thank you!


	6. Forgotten Zone

We're back again! Sorry for the long break but I've been busy with other stuff. So, I'm sure many of you have questions that need answering…The biggest one is probably "WHO THE HELL ARE THOSE BOYS?" Well, don't shout! You'll find out more about them here!

Alright, let the **One, Two, Three Arc** continue on!

Disclaimer: I refuse to claim ownership of One Piece due to my desire to not get sued.

* * *

It took a couple of hours but Caout was eventually able to find Tide, who was just beginning to wake up, and Hazuki, whose clay restraints were only just breaking apart. Caout was also glad when the nutcrackers ran out of energy and finally let go of her.

By the time the girls were reunited, it was late at night.

"Now what're we going to do?" Tide asked as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"We should probably go back to the tropical side of the island and find a place to rest," Hazuki said as she brushed clay off of her clothes and clipped her glasses back to her necklace, since her vision was back to normal.

Caout crossed her arms in front of her and furrowed her brow.

"…Let's stay here," she said quietly.

Tide and Hazuki stared at her.

"But Caout," Hazuki said, "_You_ said that we should go and get off this island."

"If this is about those boys…" Tide began.

"It is," Caout replied. She glanced up at the rooftops of the buildings surrounding them, "I…have a funny feeling. We're staying here a little longer. I need to figure something out."

"What?"

"The captain gave an order, ladies!" Caout said in a sing-song tone, "So, let's find a place to bunker down for the night."

"You're only pulling the captain card whenever you want something we don't want…" Hazuki mumbled as she and Tide followed Caout, "Where are we supposed to stay?"

Caout wordlessly shrugged and started to walk off down the main street, the girls close behind. Hazuki and Tide both wondered where they would find a place to rest for the night while they hung around this rather shady area of Tropski Island.

As they walked on, Caout stopped when she felt something small run into her leg. The girls looked down and saw a young boy, probably no older than five or six, sitting on the ground. He was dressed in a dirty shirt and shorts and was barefoot.

"Hey, you," Caout greeted as she squatted down, "What're you doing out here this late at night?"

The boy flinched and stared at the girls with wide, terrified eyes. He shivered, despite the fact that none of the girls' faces held any malice.

"I-I'm sorry," he muttered, turning his gaze to the ground, "I-i-i-it was an a-a-accident. Please d-don't hurt me!"

"Why would we do that?" Caout asked.

Hazuki saw that the boy was frightened, so she gestured for Caout to move out of the way before squatting down herself. She reached out a hand towards the boy, who closed his eyes and covered his head with his arms. Hazuki stopped her hand just in front of him and waited patiently for the boy to open his eyes again. Eventually, the child, wondering why he wasn't hurt yet, opened his eyes.

"Are you still scared of us?" Hazuki asked in a kind tone, "Don't be…It may surprise you but we're not bad people."

"Well," Caout began, "_Technically_, we-"

Tide elbowed her in the gut to shut her up.

"Don't worry about those two," Hazuki continued when the boy looked warily at the older girls, who were starting to argue with each other, "That's normal for them but they're actually rather sweet."

"You…You won't hurt me?" the boy asked quietly.

"Not at all," Hazuki said with a nod.

The boy hesitated for a moment before putting his hand in Hazuki's. The redhead helped the child to his feet and Caout and Tide stopped fighting so that they wouldn't scare the kid anymore.

"Say, kid," Tide said, "The three of us need a place to stay for the night…Do you know anywhere we can go?"

"There's lots of space at my place!" the boy said, still holding Hazuki's hand, "C'mon, I'll show you!"

So the girls let the young boy, who said his name was Tommy, lead them to where he lived.

"Here we are!" Tommy said happily as they arrived at a rather decrepit old building.

The girls looked at each other before staring at the sign…It read "Tropski Island Orphanage".

"Annabeth-san!" Tommy cried when he entered the building, followed by the trio, "Annabeth-san, I have some guests!"

A woman in her mid-thirties came from the back. She was dressed in a patched up dress and apron.

"Tommy!" the woman named Annabeth cried, engulfing the child in a hug, "Young man, what took you so long to get here? We have a strict eight o' clock curfew and you know it!"

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Tommy mumbled, "But I ran into these ladies and they need a place to stay."

It was then that Annabeth noticed the girls, who were each doing their best to look as innocent as possible so that the woman wouldn't be scared of them.

"…I don't recall seeing you three around here before," Annabeth said slowly as she carefully eyed the girls.

"Oh, we're visitors here," Tide replied, "We got in earlier today and we need a place to stay."

"Not many people come into this part of the island though."

"We didn't mean to come through here," Caout said, "We…were following something and by the time we took care of it, night was here."

"Yes, it's dangerous to wander around at night," Annabeth said after she told Tommy to go get dinner and head off to bed, "Especially in this area, the Forgotten Zone."

"Forgotten Zone?" Hazuki repeated.

Annabeth gestured around her.

"This place," she said, "This entire town…When people think of our island, they imagine what you see on the outskirts. A happy tropical paradise filled with color and laughter. Most people aren't even aware of our existence. All the 'trash' of the island, including people like beggars and orphans, are forced to live here, where no one else can see them."

"I don't get it," Hazuki said, "How can the economy of this part of the island differ so much from that of the outskirts? And who forces the 'trash' to live here in the first place?"

Annabeth looked troubled, as though she thought she said too much. The look vanished quickly, only to be replaced by an expression of warmth.

"Well, no matter!" she said cheerfully, "If you three need a place to stay, you are more than welcomed here. It's not much but…"

"It's fine," Caout said, frowning slightly.

As Annabeth went off to find some free spots for the girls, Caout let out a sigh.

"You two saw it, right?" she asked.

"Got that right," Tide replied as Hazuki nodded.

Caout furrowed her brow.

"The lady's afraid of something…"

* * *

Morning came and Hazuki was the first to wake. She groaned as she sat up from her spot on the floor. Annabeth had given her and the girls spare blankets and motioned to an uncluttered region of the ground where they could sleep. Hazuki looked over at Caout and Tide, who were still fast asleep, Caout snoring rather loudly.

Hazuki went outside. The orphanage didn't have a bathroom, so everyone used a water trough in the back to freshen up. Hazuki took one look at the oddly colored water and raced back inside, grabbing one of the water canteens from Tide's backpack.

"Wake up, you two," she said, nudging Caout with her foot.

Once they opened their eyes, Hazuki went back outside. Caout and Tide joined her a few minutes later and the three freshened up as much as they could with what they had.

"Man, I really can't wait until we have a proper a ship," Hazuki sighed as she cracked her back.

The girls turned their attention back towards the orphanage when they heard a cheer. They saw the little kids streaming out, all wearing happy smiles on their face. There were other people, some of the beggars they saw the previous day, congregating near the front of the building. Tommy saw the girls staring at the scene in a confused manner and ran over to them.

"C'mon!" he said, tugging Hazuki's hand, "The nice men came today!"

"What nice men?" Caout asked as the girls followed the boy.

"Once a month, the nice men come here and bring everyone yummy food! We can have as much as we want. It's really yummy!"

"Yummy food, huh?" Caout said, a slightly dreamy look on her face.

"Why only once a month?" Tide asked as they drew nearer to the crowd.

"They'll get in trouble if they do it more," Tommy explained.

Tide was going to ask more when she saw just _who_ it was cooking and serving the food. Caout and Hazuki followed her gaze and froze in place as well.

"No way…"

"It can't be!"

"…It _is_…"

Three men…A redhead, one with black hair and a blond…All with a necklace that had a number charm.

"Those-" Hazuki was about to yell when Tide slapped a hand over her mouth to prevent the little kids from learning any bad words.

"What're _they_ doing here?" Tide asked lowly, glaring at the smiling men.

The three of them stood behind a table that held plates, napkins and utensils. Behind the men were an array of portable stoves and grills, which the blond was cooking from. The smell of good food being cooked filled the air and, to Tide and Hazuki's embarrassment, their stomachs growled.

"They better not try to do anything to these poor people," Hazuki said angrily.

"…But didn't Tommy say they do this once a month?" Tide said.

"Yeah, but-Wait…Where's Caout?"

The girls noticed that their captain was not by their side. The turned to the crowd and noticed, with jaws dropped, that Caout was standing on line to get food.

"Esther," the black haired man greeted an old woman, "How's your husband?"

"Still feeling terribly," the woman named Esther replied sadly, "He's bedridden now."

"I'm sorry…" the blond said sincerely, reaching under the table to pull out a container, "Here, I made this just for him. It contains the proper amount of vitamins and minerals he needs and the herbs I used should help to ease the pain somewhat."

The old woman accepted the container gratefully.

"Here you go, little lady!" the redhead man said as he gave food to a little girl, tapping her on the nose, which made her giggle, "Alright, next up!"

"That's me."

The three men all stopped what they were doing and stared at Caout in surprise. Caout held a plate in her hands and stared at them with a rather neutral expression. The blond was the first to recover.

"Miss, I don't know if I should be worried or flattered that you're stalking me," he said, flashing his lopsided grin.

"Don't start with me," Caout replied, "You jerks _did_ steal my money."

"Speaking of jerks," the redhead interjected, "There's some delicious jerk chicken over here."

Caout didn't even crack a grin at the joke. She stared at the men, her feelings and intentions unknown to them.

"What do you want?" the black haired man asked, "If you're going to have us arrested, then you're-"

Caout shoved her plate into the blonde's hands.

"Food first," she said simply, "Then, we're talking…"

The blonde man stared at Caout for a minute before chuckling softly.

"Alright then," he agreed.

"But-" the redhead said, only to be silenced when the blonde held up a hand.

"It's fine…I actually want to talk with you and your friends, Miss…"

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other half of Tropski Island, there was a giant mansion. Near said mansion was a fantastic amusement park that could possibly rival the one on Sabaody Archipelago. However, unlike most amusement parks, this one was empty, save for two teenagers, a man and a woman.

Both had sleek blond hair and blue eyes and were dressed in outfits that would put royalty to shame. The two were escorted by a pair of huge, almost ape-like guards as they exited the park and went inside the mansion.

"Father!" the boy called out.

"Are you here, Father?" the girl also cried.

Within moments, a tall man dressed in a dark blue suit and smoking a cigar descended from the marble staircase, accompanied by six of those ape-like guards.

"Ah, my children," he greeted as he approached the two teenagers, "What is it? I thought you were enjoying the park I built specifically for your enjoyment?"

"Father, we've ridden those rides too many times to count!" the boy complained.

"Yes, Father, we want something new to play on!" the girl whined.

"Very well," the man chuckled, "When the boys return, I'll have them build you brand new rides."

"Ugh, where are they?" the girl asked, stomping her feet impatiently, "Why can't they build rides _now_?"

"Well, they told me they were scouting out a new target, children. Don't worry, they'll be back soon and then they'll create whatever you want…Those boys are talented, after all."

The teens sighed and made their way to their bedrooms. As the children entered their rooms, the front doors of the mansion slammed open. The man looked unimpressed as one of his guards dragged in a struggling man and threw him to the ground in front of the cigar smoking man.

"You," the cigar smoker said to the shivering and bloody man, "You operate a café on the island, right?"

"Y-y-yes, sir," the man stuttered, fear coursing through him.

"Well," the smoker continued as another guard handed him a list, "According to my information, your profits have been steadily decreasing over the past three months…"

"I'm sorry, sir! It's j-j-just that I have s-s-so many other cafes to c-c-compete with-"

"No excuses!" the smoker yelled, throwing the list in the man's face, "If you lose money, then I lose money…That makes me and my children very unhappy. And remember what I told this island five years ago…If my family is unhappy, then everyone else will be too."

"I'm so sorry, Don Siegel! I'll change! I will! Please, give me another chance!"

The man named Don Siegel considered this for a moment.

"Well, your café does still make money, so I can't get rid of it…Fine, I'll give you another chance."

The man smiled, thankful for his life.

"However…" Don Siegel continued, a horrible grin on his face, "Some punishment is in order to make sure this doesn't happen again…According to the records, you have three sons, right? Strong young men who help around?"

"S-s-sir?" the man said questioningly, terrified.

Don Siegel turned to two of his guards.

"Take the two strongest looking sons," he ordered, "Borrow a ship and take them to the slave traders that operate on Helton Island, thirty miles south from here. They'll take care of them. Strong young men will be in high demand after all. And I get fifty percent of whatever price they're sold for."

"NO!" the man cried in horror as the guards nodded and left, "Please, no! You can't take my sons from me!"

"Why not? You'll still have one left over…Get him out of my sight."

Don Siegel ignored the man's screams and tears as he was dragged out.

"My, my…It's such hard work to run this island and make a decent profit," he told his guards as he moved to sit on his leather seat.

"At least you don't have to do all of the work, sir," a guard said as he poured some vodka into a glass for his boss, "Those three boys do very well, don't they?"

Don Siegel laughed.

"Yes, they do. It was definitely a brilliant idea when I hired them four years ago…"

"Those Kirkland Brothers…"

* * *

Done! Well, we get the general name of those boys and see that they seem to have a bit of a soft side for the people of the Forgotten Zone. But why are they working for a cruel monster like Don Siegel? What will happen next? You'll find out soon enough! Next chapter, we'll learn a lot more about these Kirkland Brothers!

Please review my story! Please, please, please, please, please, please, please! Thanks!


	7. The Kirkland Brothers

On to the next chapter! Fun fact, everyone! Don Siegel's name is based off of the name of a famous gangster. And who says fanfics can't be educational?

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, is that clear?

* * *

"SO GOOD!"

After the three men had given everyone in line some food, they took some for themselves and joined Caout, Tide and Hazuki, who were sitting atop some boxes a few feet away from where everyone else was eating. The boys could only gape as Caout shoveled massive amounts of food into her mouth, while Tide and Hazuki gave them looks that said "This is normal so don't bother questioning it."

"Um…I'm glad you like it…" the blond man said.

"I take back every bad thing I said about you, yo-yo man!" Caout exclaimed through a full mouth.

"So, we're no longer thieving bastards?" the black haired man asked amusedly.

"Well…You guys aren't _that_ bad," Caout admitted, adding darkly, "Not like that bastard-asshole-jerk."

"Isn't that kind of redundant?" Hazuki asked.

"No."

"Who is this person?" Tide asked her.

"Before I met you guys," Caout said simply.

Tide and Hazuki looked at each other. So this person was someone from Caout's mysterious past? And, from the way Caout was muttering into her food, this person was someone she didn't like _at all_…

"This food is so delicious!" Caout exclaimed, apparently over her bad mood.

"Of course you'd like it!" the redhead man said, patting the blond on the back, "My baby brother here could cook for Mariejois if he wasn't such a scoundrel!"

"Three things," the blonde replied, "One, you're as much of a scoundrel as me. Two, don't call me a baby when I'm eighteen years old. And three, stop calling me your baby brother when I'm only younger than you by ten minutes!"

As the redhead and the black haired man laughed, Hazuki started to question the trio, since Caout was too busy stuffing her face.

"So, you three are brothers?" she asked.

"Triplets to be exact," the black haired man responded, "You probably could tell we were related by how much we look alike, huh?"

"Got that right…" Hazuki muttered as she eyed the three men, physically alike in every way except hair color and clothes, "So, what are your names?"

"What are _yours_?" the blonde asked in return.

Caout decided to swallow and take this question.

"Well, I'm Listerra D. Caout!" she said proudly, "The redhead is my little sister, Monkey D. Hazuki. And the pink haired terror is my partner, Nyshairyn."

Tide chose to smack Caout's head over her introduction.

"Ny-share-rin, huh?" the redhead repeated, enunciating the name, "That's unique."

"It's Tide…Listerra and I are on a surname basis."

"Not close?" the black haired man whispered to Hazuki.

"_Please_!" Hazuki scoffed, "Caout and Tide are _closest_ to each other than anyone else…They just have a different way of showing affection."

"And what's with this 'partner' business?"

"I have no clue…Tide said Caout decided upon it when they met and didn't elaborate much."

The blond looked back and forth between Caout and Hazuki.

"For sisters, you two don't look much alike…"

"Told you," Caout said smugly to Hazuki before adding more quickly, "I mean, we're not related by blood! She's…my adoptive sister."

"Is that right?" he said with his crooked grin, "Are you lying to me? Miss Daughter of the Pirate King?"

Caout nearly dropped her plate of food at those words.

"H-how'd you-?"

"Come now," the blond said with a laugh as his brothers looked at him curiously, "Miss Hazuki shares the same surname as Monkey D. Luffy, so that was a no-brainer. And if I remember correctly, _you_ took out Boran the Gorilla by stretching your arm, a skill that only Luffy possesses."

"…How did you know about monkey boy?" Tide asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I was there," the blond explained as he took a sip of water, "My brothers and I do our thieving in different ways. Sometimes, we 'join' pirate crews and rob them blind while acting as loyal crewmates. I was doing a solo mission on Boran's ship when you three came along and knocked them senseless."

Hazuki perked up at that…That statement reminded her….

"If that's true," she began, "How did you get to where we found you so quickly? And how come I didn't hear a splash when you jumped off of our boat?"

"Sorry!" the redhead said with a grin, "That's a secret! We like you three but we don't trust you yet."

"Back to the point," Tide said, "What're your names?"

"I'm One," the blond said.

"…No, seriously…"

"I _am_ serious! My name is One Kirkland."

"I'm Two Kirkland," the redhead said next.

"And I'm Three Kirkland," the black haired man said.

"And together…" the boy named One said as he put his arms around his brothers' shoulders.

"We're the Kirkland Brothers!" they said simultaneously.

Things were silent between the six of them for a few seconds…

"…You're named after _numbers_?" Tide said incredulously.

"Wow, your parents weren't the creative types, huh?" Caout asked.

Tide noted that the boys seemed to flinch at the word "parents".

"Well, it's sort of creative," the boy named Three said, "Bet you don't usually meet people named after numbers. And it's like a countdown! I'm the oldest and One's the youngest."

"Oh, _now_ I remember why those necklaces looked familiar!" Hazuki said suddenly, "I overheard some people talking about you on that passenger ship we were on!"

* * *

"_Did you hear? Those boys robbed the Warrington Estate two weeks ago!"_

_Hazuki, waiting for Tide to drag Caout away from the buffet table, turned her attention to the couple standing nearby, whispering amongst themselves._

"_Really?" the woman replied, "Those boys who are being called the most notorious thieves of the East Blue?"_

"_Yes, indeed," the man answered, "I can't recall their names but I remember one thing. Each of them wears a silver necklace with a silver number pendant that has a ruby in the center…"_

* * *

"Ah the Warrington Estate…" Two sighed, "That was a fun one!"

"We almost didn't complete it because you wouldn't stop flirting with all those maids," Three said.

"I'm sorry, but _who_ was it we had to drag out of that place's enormous library?" Two retorted.

"Shut up, you guys," One said with a roll of his eyes.

"Now, now, One…" Two said in a mockingly serious voice.

"That is no way to talk to your beloved elder brothers," Three finished.

"You aren't that much older than me!"

The girls regarded the boys as they argued, playfully hitting each other and laughing. They seemed to be rather close to one another.

"Another question," Caout said, "What's with all of those freaky toys?"

Two and Three looked at One, who was trying his best to look innocent.

"One here is a mastermind when it comes to making innocent little toys into demon weapons," Two stated with a laugh.

"It's a great skill because no one sees it coming when we fight them," Three added.

"Tell me about it," the girls all groaned, remembering the previous night.

"…Can _we_ ask you guys something?" Three said after a moment of silence.

"Why not?" Caout replied.

"You three seemed pretty pissed off at us yesterday," One said, "Yet you're acting rather calmly now. Why?"

"Yes, Listerra," Tide said as she and Hazuki looked at the girl, "_Why_?"

Caout, having finally finished her meal, placed the plate atop another box and gave the brothers a smirk.

"Because you three aren't so bad after all," she said as she propped up her chin on her hands.

"What are you talking about, Caout?" Hazuki asked, "Don't you remember last night? You were fine but they left me and Tide defenseless in abandoned alleyways…What if some creep had-?"

Caout cut her off with a laugh.

"Yeah, I know! I was having trouble finding you two and all of those thoughts were going through my head. I mean, even if you turned out alright, I was going to beat these bastards within an inch of their lives for putting you two through the risk."

The boys had the decency to look ashamed as Tide and Hazuki glared at them.

"However…" Caout continued in a more serious tone, "When I was getting close to finding Nyshairyn, I saw a bunch of weird old men knocked out on the ground. As I helped Nyshairyn up, I thought I saw a young man hiding in the shadows further down the alley…"

Three blinked in surprise.

"Then, when I found Haz," Caout continued, "I saw more of those creeps out cold. And I definitely spotted a redhead on the roofs of a nearby building."

Tide and Hazuki turned to look at the boys in surprise.

"…You kept an eye on us?" Hazuki asked softly.

One sighed, running a hand through his messy blonde hair, before answering.

"We had to get the goods back soon…But we realized that we left Miss Tide and Miss Hazuki in troublesome situations. So I had Two and Three watch out for them until you came along, Miss Caout."

There was silence between them upon this revelation. After a moment, Tide decided to break it.

"I don't get it…You three are apparently friendly and get along well with people. Your cooking is superb; you can open up a restaurant or something…So what's with the thieving business?"

The boys looked at each other before facing the girl with solemn expressions.

"It's complicated," Three said as he checked his watch, "Well, brothers of mine, we'd better head back before we garner any suspicion…"

"From who?" Hazuki asked as the boys stood up.

"Sorry! Another secret!" Two replied with a smile.

"Listen, we really are sorry about taking your money," One told them, "But we needed it…We'll make it up to you three before you leave."

"Then get us a boat!" Caout said as she and the girls stood up as well, "Ours got wrecked…"

"Your fault," Tide muttered.

"And we need a way off the island."

"Perhaps we can figure something out," Three said, pondering over the request, "You'll have to give us some time though…We can't exactly be caught being nice…"

"Don't take too long though," Tide replied, "As pirates, we can't exactly stay put forever."

"And that reminds me," Caout said, staring at One, "Listen, about the whole Pirate King thing…I'm trying to become known for the person I am and not the man I'm related to so if you could not pass that info around…"

"Understandable," One said, turning to Hazuki, "But what about you? You're sporting your father's name so…"

"Well, unlike Caout here, I'm trying to get the world to acknowledge me," Hazuki explained, "So if it's as the Pirate King's daughter, then so be it."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Two said in a musical tone.

"You're going to cause unnecessary trouble if you use that name this early in the game," Three added.

"Just don't use your surname yet," One said when Hazuki looked like she was going to argue, "Wait until you've really gotten people's attention through your acts of piracy. Then, you can use the name as much as you want. Because if you use your father's name so soon, yes, you'll be noticed but you'll still be stuck in a shadow."

Hazuki stared at One for a moment before nodding. Okay, she understood the intelligence in going about things that way.

"Man, I didn't think you'd be the guy saying the deep stuff, One," Two laughed.

"Shut up," One murmured.

"Well, it was great meeting you ladies properly," Three said as the brothers walked off to retrieve their cooking stuff before they left, "We'll get you a boat as soon as possible."

"You better!" Caout shouted after them, "Or I'll change my mind about kicking your asses!"

* * *

After about an hour of walking, the Kirkland Brothers reached the outskirts of Don Siegel's property.

"Alright, you guys put away the stuff," One whispered as he handed his brothers the cooking materials, "I'll go in there and distract anyone I come across."

One sighed and strolled into the mansion, trying to put up a mask of confidence. He thought he would be used to all this, having done the same thing once a month for three years.

But perhaps that was the problem…He and his brothers had been doing this for so long…And many similar acts of human decency…Wasn't it a matter of time before they were caught?

"You!"

One resisted his urge to roll his eyes at this familiar greeting. Instead, he turned to face his speaker with a smile.

There they were…Don Siegel's beloved children. The twins, Lila and Roland Siegel…He noticed that Lila was holding a bejeweled staff, probably a present from her ever loving father…

"Hello there, Miss Lila," One greeted with a slight bow, "Mr. Roland…"

"Don't give us that," Lila said condescendingly, "Where have you been?"

"The boys and I have been scouting out a new target," One lied easily, "After all, we have to plan our acts before we can perpetrate them."

"Is that so?" Roland replied, "Then, where _are_ you brothers?"

"They'll be here shortly. They got a bit caught up in the tourist district."

Lila sniffed.

"Why do you smell like food?"

One held back a groan…Perhaps he should have taken a bath.

"Well, we had lunch on the way back from scouting."

To One's relief, the twins seemed to believe the lies.

"Well, we need you to get to work on a new ride for us," Roland said, his tone as snobby as always, "The ones in the amusement park no longer entertain us. We want something new!"

"Yes, something fun and exciting!" Lila added, "Well? What are you waiting for? Get to work!"

"Forgive me," One responded, "But you both know very well that my brothers and I work together on those rides…"

"You're able to make those little toy weapons on your own," Roland said.

"Yes, but for huge stuff like the amusement park, we work as a team. Two thinks things up, Three draws the blueprints and I do most of the building…"

"You're just being a lazy swine as usual!" Lila scolded, "We told you to get to work so do it!"

"But-"

Any argument One had was cut off when Lila struck him hard across the face with her staff. Roland laughed obnoxiously as One stumbled back…Only to be caught before he fell to the ground.

One looked up and saw the familiar orange of Two's hair. He was staring at the twins coldly.

"Pardon me," he said in a cool tone as he helped One back to his feet, "But could you guys _please_ not hit my brother for no reason?"

"How dare you use that tone with us?" Roland sneered.

"Why, you-" Two growled as he stepped forward, only to be grabbed by the back of his shirt.

"Don't, Two," Three said warningly before looking up at the twins, "I apologize for my brother's behavior. He's quite the hothead. We will get to work on a new ride for you right away, Miss Lila and Mr. Roland."

Lila and Roland glared at the brothers for a few moments longer before turning around and heading up the stairs to their rooms. The second the two were out of sight, Three whacked Two across the head.

"You idiot!" he scolded as Two rubbed his head, "Are you _trying_ to get killed?"

"You expect me to do _nothing_ when that bitch decides to hit our little brother?" Two asked.

"Two, we have to deal with it," One said, "It's been four years since we started working for Don Siegel, I thought you'd understand by now."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it…" Two murmured, crossing his arms in front of him.

"We have to put up with it," Three said with a sigh. He turned to look at the red mark on One's face, "We should get some ice on that, One. Then, it's off to build…"

"Let's hurry then," One replied, glancing up the stairs, "Before those two decide to complain to Daddy…"

* * *

Caout, Tide and Hazuki decided to head back to the tropical end of the island. They wanted to get their clothes from the woman who was washing them. Then, they would head back to the Forgotten Zone and hang out there until the Kirkland Brothers got them a boat.

"I wonder who those three work for," Hazuki said as they made it through the forest.

"No one good," Tide replied, recalling the rather nervous expressions on their faces.

The pair noticed that Caout seemed to be deep in thought. Tide and Hazuki looked at each other. Caout, the one who was always such an impulsive moron, was behaving a lot differently than usual…Then again, they had seen signs of that over the years…Those moments when Caout was no longer energy personified but rather…shrewd.

"What's up, Listerra?" Tide asked, trying to sound casual.

"…Do you think we can get those boys to join our crew?"

"Huh?" Tide and Hazuki said simultaneously.

Caout looked at them with an expression of pure glee.

"C'mon, their cooking is top notch!" she said with delight, "It'll be like having three Sanjis aboard! Ah, the meals we can have…"

As Caout rambled on about food, Tide and Hazuki burst out laughing…Okay, perhaps they were thinking into her personality too deeply…Caout was still Caout, no matter what.

"Please! Don't do this!"

The girls stopped at the sound of the cry.

There, in front of the café they had been at yesterday, were two enormous guards who looked almost ape-like. In their arms were two young men, about Caout and Tide's age, who were struggling. A bloodied man and a woman, along with a younger man were pleading with the guards.

"You can't take them!" the woman, probably the boys' mother, yelled.

"Release my sons!" the bloodied man, the father, begged, "I swear, I'll increase my profits for next month!"

"Let them go!" the younger man, possibly the boys' brother, yelled as he punched one of the guards to no avail.

Caout, Tide and Hazuki exchanged glances.

"Shall we?" Tide asked.

Caout grinned widely as Hazuki grabbed her staff.

"We shall…"

* * *

Done! So we learned quite a bit this chapter. We learned more about the Kirkland Brothers. You got the gist of their personalities. Three is rather mature and level-headed, Two is passionate and fun loving and One is like a mixture of both of them.

Here's something I want to tell you readers…Keep an eye on Caout's personality throughout the story. You'll be in for quite a reveal later on but for now just observe her personality.

Oh, I bet some of you are wondering who on earth is this "bastard-asshole-jerk" Caout mentioned earlier...No worries...You'll learn eventually...

Please read and review! I would greatly appreciate it!


	8. Don Siegel

I have something I wish to say to those of you who read this story. I am writing it in the same style that I wrote Straw Hat Legacies: The Name's Caout. What that means is that I am trying to make this story fit into the spirit of One Piece and the attitude of that story. However, my story will have a darker air to it, just like The Name's Caout did. No, it won't be completely dark, in fact it is mostly easy going and humorous, as you can tell. However, certain stuff will be handled in a darker way. And don't think that just because this is the beginning of the story, there won't be darkness. No, it will be there too. So be prepared, dear readers, for what lies ahead.

Tide: …You made it sound like the world's going to end…

Me: Well, excuse me for trying to prepare my readers!

Disclaimer: I am not a Japanese man…I am an American girl…So how could I possibly own One Piece?

* * *

"I don't know how Kota and I can possibly thank you!"

The bloodied man, Kota, was been bandaged up by his wife, Emi, both expressing their thanks to Hazuki.

"It was no trouble, really," Hazuki replied.

She looked over her shoulder and saw that Tide was checking over the two older boys with the boys' younger brother. Caout, in the meanwhile, was jumping up and down on the bodies of the beaten up guards, as though they were trampolines.

The fight had barely lasted five minutes.

"You spared my sons from a life of slavery," Kota said, tears in his eyes, "You have no idea how grateful I am to you girls."

"To be frank, I just wanted to kick someone's ass," Caout said as she finally jumped off the guards and walked to where Hazuki and Tide were.

"Well, neither of you are worse for the wear," Tide stated as she finished looking over the boys, Daichi and Torachi.

Tide noticed the younger boy, Saichi, looking at her eyes curiously.

"You're…" he said slowly, "You're an Elementist, right?"

Tide grew a bit tense at that.

"Huh…I heard that Elementists are supposed to be evil demons…But you're pretty nice…"

Tide let out a sigh…

"Well, we're just like regular people," she said, "There are good ones and bad ones…"

"Who are those guys anyway?" Hazuki asked, staring at the guards.

The family exchanged dark looks with one another.

"They're the Gorilla Guards…" Torachi spat.

"Wait, so they're _really_ gorillas?" Caout asked, looking at the big, ape-like guards with awe.

"No," Daichi said, "They just look the part, hence their name…They work directly under Don Siegel."

"Who's he?"

"…We really shouldn't say anything…" Emi whispered, looking around carefully.

"After what he almost did to my children, I don't care!" Kota said angrily, "Come inside, girls. I'll tell you about that monster…"

As the girls followed the family into the café, the two members of the Gorilla Guards started to stir.

"Ugh…What should we do?"

"…Report to Don Siegel…"

* * *

"…Tropski Island wasn't always like it was today…" Kota began.

Caout was munching on some cake while Tide and Hazuki listened intently to the story.

"Years back we were neither too rich nor too poor. Our economy was just fine. We were a popular destination but I wouldn't call us a 'tourist hotspot'. Our lives were fine…There was no such thing as a Forgotten Zone or Gorilla Guards…"

"…It began five years ago…"

* * *

"_Dad, look at that ship!"_

_Kota heard Torachi's shout and looked in the direction the boy was pointing. There was indeed a ship heading straight for the island. Kota, along with other islanders who were gathering nearby, couldn't help but gape at the ship. It was nothing like they had ever seen near these waters…It looked like a ship for royalty…_

"_Is there a king coming, Dad?" Saichi asked, clutching his mother's arm._

"_No king I know of would come here…" Kota whispered, a terrible feeling building up inside him._

_The ship finally docked and the islanders waited to see who rode upon such a magnificent vessel. After several minutes, a few figures started to descend form the ship._

_In the lead was a tall man, dressed in a fine suit and smoking a cigar. He wore a sinister smile on his face. There were two blond children, a boy and a girl who looked to be about twelve, on either side of the man. The two kids were dressed in clothes far finer than anything Kota had seen before._

_The islanders whispered amongst themselves when several ape-like guards followed the man and the blond kids. The guards all looked menacing and fixed the islanders such cold gazes. Kota felt Daichi and Torachi shuffle closer to him while Saichi clutched Emi even tighter._

"_Well, what a splendid island!" the suited man exclaimed, "Yes, quite perfect indeed…"_

"_Father, it smells here!" the blond girl whined._

"_Yes, and look!" the blond boy said, pointing at some of the poorer islanders who were observing, "There are such dirty people here! Make them go away, Father!"_

"_In due time, child…" the children's father said before he turned to the islanders, all of whom were growing angry at the way they were being referred to, "I am Don Siegel. These absolutely wonderful twins are my children, Lila and Roland."_

_Not a single islander offered the slightest greeting to them._

"_How rude!" the girl named Lila said in a snobby fashion._

"_Dreadfully rude!" Roland agreed._

_The man named Don Siegel stepped forward._

"_I'm not going to mince words with you people," he said darkly, "I heard that this island is loved by tourists. Tourists mean money and I do love money. Yet none of you seem to understand that with a few slight changes your island's profits could shoot up."_

_Kota did not like the tone Don Siegel was using._

"_So, I've decided to help your lot out," Don Siegel said, his smile growing wider, "This island will definitely become paradise…"_

* * *

"So, this Siegel guy sounds pretty good," Caout said through a mouthful of cake.

"Not at all!" Kota shot back, "We liked our island the way it was…But Don Siegel wouldn't take no for an answer…"

"He used his Gorilla Guards to force all of us to submit to him," Emi continued, "His first act was to move everyone away from 'his half' of the island. He uprooted so many families in order to claim that section and build his mansion there…"

"His next act was to take all the people he saw as unsightly and put them together in an unseen part of the island," Saichi stated.

"The Forgotten Zone," Hazuki said.

"So you've been there?" Daichi asked, "…The Forgotten Zone…The place where he forced beggars, orphans and the like to live…Not caring if they had food, water, shelter…"

Tide frowned as she remembered the conditions in the Forgotten Zone. Tommy and Annabeth's dirty and torn clothes…People fighting over one loaf of bread…

"After one year our island was no longer what it used to be," Torachi said, "We got many more tourists had had to put on a happy attitude to entertain them. We had to make sure our profits stayed as they were or increased…We gave nearly all of the money we earned to him. We had to meet a monthly quota…If we didn't…"

Torachi shivered, suddenly aware of the fate he and Daichi had almost been put through…His brothers put their arms around him comfortingly.

"But we still weren't giving him enough money…" Kota said, "So he hired some help."

* * *

_It had been one year since Don Siegel came to the island. The man had headed off to some unknown destination a few weeks earlier. But his children and the Gorilla Guards were still around. In fact, they were patrolling the tropical side of the island at that very moment._

"_So boring!" Roland cried, "I wish there was an amusement park here, Lila!"_

"_I agree, Roland!" Lila said, "When Father gets back, we'll make him build us an amusement park!"_

"_Only for us!"_

"_Of course! Do you expect us to allow the trash to touch our property?"_

_Kota shook his head at the overly spoiled children. He looked up and saw that a ship was coming in…Don Siegel's ship._

"_He's back…" Kota murmured._

"_Is it horrible that I wish he had an accident at sea?" Emi asked._

"_Not at all, my dear…"_

_When the ship pulled into port and Don Siegel descended, the islanders let out a cheer. It was all a part of the act they put on for the tourists…The tourists who thought that Don Siegel was a wonderful man who the people of Tropski Island adore…_

_The people following Don Siegel, much to Kota's surprise, were three boys, probably no older than fourteen. They boys were almost exactly like each other. Their faces held a mixture of resignation and sympathy as they gazed about the island._

"_Everyone, please greet these boys warmly!" Don Siegel cried as he gestured to the three boys, "I saved them from crushing poverty and they shall now become members of Tropski Island!"_

_The islanders cheered, though they secretly pitied the young boys._

"_Now everyone," Don Siegel said, "Say hello to the Kirkland Brothers."_

* * *

Kota was cut off from the story by Caout choking on a piece of cake. Emi gave the girl some tea, which she downed in one gulp. Caout stared at Kota in shock.

"_The Kirkland Brothers_?" she repeated loudly, "Those three _work_ for this Siegel jerk?"

"You met those boys?" Emi asked.

"A few times over the past couple days," Tide answered.

"Wait…" Caout said, looking confused, "So those boys are bad people after all?"

"No!" Kota and his family shouted.

"On the contrary!" Emi exclaimed, "The first year they came they didn't interact with anyone else…They went on and off the island at random intervals, doing tasks for Don Siegel. They always returned with large bags of treasure and such."

"However," Daichi said, "After that first year, they started to interact more with everyone and helping us. We saw that they were good people. Once a month they would cook food for people in the Forgotten Zone."

"Don Siegel orders people killed or sold when they anger him," Torachi added, "Those boys try their best to be given the task of punishment. Then, they make it seem like they did the task."

"But they actually smuggle the people they were supposed to kill or sell to safety," Saichi said, "For people they're supposed to sell, they go and steal money to make it seem like they _were_ sold. They risk a lot to help everyone when they can."

"…So, they _are_ good people?" Caout asked.

"Yes, idiot," Tide said, smacking Caout's head.

"Then, you know what that means!" Caout said happily as she rubbed the spot Tide hit, "They're nice and they can cook…So we definitely have to make them join us!"

* * *

One, Two and Three walked around the amusement park they built for Lila and Roland over the course of the four years they worked for Don Siegel. Several feet away from them, waiting for them to start, were said blond twins and Don Siegel.

"What is taking so long?" Lila asked, "Hurry up!"

"We are bored!" Roland called.

"You boys are seriously trying my children's patience!" Don Siegel added.

"We're getting to it you spoiled, selfish assholes," Two muttered under his breath.

"Two, don't…" Three warned.

"Those brats are asking for a butt kicking and by God I hope I get to hit each of them!" Two said.

"The butt kicking can wait, Two," One said, scratching his head, "Now instead of revenge, get to work figuring out what we're building and where we're building it."

"Aaahh!"

The triplets snapped their heads around at the scream, disappointed to see that the Siegel family wasn't in any trouble. Instead, there were two Gorilla Guards limping towards Don Siegel. Surprised that they looked beaten up, the boys ran up to them.

"What the hell happened to you two?" One asked, looking over their bloody and bruised forms.

"Trouble…in town…" one moaned.

"What kind of trouble?" Don Siegel growled, "I thought I told you to go sell two boys…They didn't cause you this much trouble, did they?"

The guards looked at each other before the other answered.

"Not…the boys…" he murmured.

"_Not_ them?" Don Siegel said incredulously, "Then, who?"

"Three…Three girls…" the first guard said, "A black haired one, a redhead and a pink haired one."

The Kirkland Brothers were glad that the Siegel family was too focused on the guards to see the looks of absolute shock on their faces. Caout, Hazuki and Tide…Those three girls had beaten up _two members of the Gorilla Guards_?

"You were beaten?" Don Siegel growled, "_By three girls_?"

"They weren't normal, sir!" one guard said, "And one of them is an Elementist!"

Don Siegel looked at the guards in disgust.

"A mongrel got onto this island? Sickening…"

Don Siegel let out a whistle, summoning two more Gorilla Guards.

"Go into town and kill those little girls," he ordered.

"No!"

The Siegel family and the guards stared at One, who had uttered the cry.

"No?" Don Siegel repeated.

"What he means," Three said, thinking quickly, "Is that you should let the three of us take care of those girls, sir! Think about it! They already proved capable of taking down two Gorilla Guards!"

"Yeah, and have _we_ ever failed you?" Two asked.

"…No, you have not," Don Siegel admitted, "Very well, boys…Get to work."

"Yes sir," they said as they turned around.

"Oh, and One?"

The blond turned around, a cautious expression on his face.

"Yes?"

Don Siegel threw something at him. One caught the item and his face blanched as he stared at what it was.

…A knife…A _real_ knife…

"You always use those little toys of yours to do the job," Don Siegel said with a horrible smile, "Let's see you work with a real weapon…"

"B-b-but…" One stuttered.

"He can do it, Father!" Lila exclaimed.

"Definitely! He'll kill those horrible girls easily!" Roland added, shooting One a grin.

"And to make sure…" Don Siegel started, turning to the two guards he had called, "Go with them and watch those boys."

The triplets exchanged worried glances…This was not how this was supposed to go…It had never happened this way before…

"Is there a problem?" Don Siegel asked, amused at the boys' expressions.

"…No, sir," One whispered.

"Good…Then go."

The Kirkland Brothers headed into the amusement park, followed by the two guards. The group approached one of the rides the brothers had made, called the orbiter. The brothers took seats in one cluster of cars while the two guards each took their own cluster, due to their sizes.

The ride started up, spinning the groups around faster and faster. Once they reach max speed, Three pressed a button on his seatbelt. The clusters of cars then disconnected and started flying. A steering wheel came out of the top of the brothers' cluster. The steering wheel controlled all the clusters.

"So what do we do?" Two asked as One drove using the steering wheel, the clusters of cars holding the two guards close behind.

"We can't kill those girls!" Three said anxiously.

One sighed deeply. He could feel the knife that was hidden in his blazer.

"We do the only thing we _can_ do…We wing it…"

* * *

Oooooh, what will happen now?

For those who don't understand the thing with the ride, look up a picture of an amusement park ride called an orbiter. Got the image? Imagine those seats breaking off and flying. Yeah…The seats the Kirkland Brothers are in are the main controls and they control where the other clusters of seats go. Hey, those boys can modify any toy, remember?

The reason why Don Siegel and the twins messed with One in regards to the knife is because out of the triplets, One is the gentlest and least likely to kill…

Thanks for reading and please review the chapter, please!


	9. As Realistic As Possible

Let me take the time to say thank you to the two people who favorite this story, the two who alerted the story and the people who took the time to leave me a review. Thank you so much for giving me the encouragement I need to keep this story going! At least I know someone is enjoying it!

P.S.: Did you know that Tropski is the Croatian word for "tropical"? Fun fact!

Disclaimer: One Piece isn't mine, it's Oda-sensei's…

* * *

"So, ladies! How are we going to convince the Kirkland Brothers to join our crew?"

Tide and Hazuki stared at Caout, who looked at them eagerly, waiting for an idea. The three were sitting at a table outside of Kota's café, giving Kota and his family some time together after saving Daichi and Torachi from the Gorilla Guards. Tide had noticed that the guards that they had beaten up were gone but Caout drew her attention away from that.

"C'mon, Caout," Hazuki said, "Don't you remember what One said back when we first met him? He said he wasn't interested in piracy."

"But that must've been part of his act!" Caout insisted, "C'mon, we'll _never_ run into people who can cook like Sanji anywhere else!"

"You exaggerating, Listerra," Tide murmured.

"But I like those guys, Nyshairyn! We need them on the crew!"

Tide knew all too well how stubborn Caout could be when she got an idea in her head. She had experienced that stubbornness herself many times, from the moment she had met the girl back on Garuka Island eight years ago.

Hazuki was about to offer a retort when she heard a strange noise in the distance…Almost like a buzzing. And it was steadily growing louder…

"You guys hear that?" she asked, only to notice that Caout and Tide were both silent, both concentrating on the strange noise.

The girls stood up as something zoomed overhead. The other people around them screamed as a gust of wind blew through.

"WHOA!" Caout shouted, "Those things _are flying_! _They're actually flying_!"

"…That's One, Two and Three…" Tide stated as the weird flying crafts landed.

One let go of the steering wheel and Two pressed a couple buttons on his seat. The steering wheel retracted and the safety belts came off, allowing the brothers and the two Gorilla Guards to get out.

Caout was about to call out to the triplets when a pair of hands pulled her into the café. She saw that Tide and Hazuki had also been pulled in.

"What's wrong?" Caout asked Emi, "It's just those brothers…"

"It's obvious why they're here," Kota said in a dark tone, "Those guards you girls beat up earlier went to Don Siegel…And so he sent the boys to get rid of you three…"

"But…You said they _don't_ kill people," Hazuki said.

"And they don't," Saichi answered, "But look! They have Gorilla Guards with them!"

"Meaning Don Siegel wants proof that the boys actually did the job this time," Daichi whispered.

"Come, girls," Emi said as she opened a door at the back of the café, "Go out through here and head for the Forgotten Zone, we'll try to distract them."

Caout looked at Tide and Hazuki.

"You two go then," Caout ordered.

"What?" Tide said, surprised, "Why on earth would we-?"

"I'll take care of things here," Caout said firmly.

"We can help you, Caout!" Hazuki said, "We're not weak."

Caout smirked at them.

"I know…But I have something a bit different in mind…"

* * *

One, Two and Three glanced around the tourist area. They saw many people…The citizens of Tropski Island…The many visitors to the "island paradise"…But, to their relief, no Caout, Tide and Hazuki.

"Maybe they left?" Two suggested.

"But they said they didn't have a boat, remember?" Three whispered, trying not to draw attention to themselves from the guards.

One was silent as he took out the knife Don Siegel had given him.

He didn't deal with real weapons…Never had, never will. That's why he fought using toys. Sure, he turned those toys into very useful weapons but, at the end of the day, they were still _toys_. They could do plenty of damage but they couldn't kill…

Not like this knife…

Three put a hand on One's shoulder.

"Hopefully, you won't have to use it," he said softly, knowing of his brother's concerns.

"Hello there, boys!"

"You're not allowed to talk again, Three," Two sighed as Caout walked up to them casually, a smile on her face.

One gritted his teeth. He reached into his blazer, only to be stopped by the Gorilla Guards clearing their throats.

"Don Siegel said to use the knife," one of the growled.

"So use it, boy," the other said.

One closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He tightened his grip on the knife. His eyes snapped open as he turned to look at Caout, who was watching them without a care.

"You, girl!" One shouted, knowing that he couldn't let the guards be aware that he and his brothers knew Caout, "Are you the one who beat up two members of the Gorilla Guards earlier today?"

"Yup!" Caout admitted happily, "Kicked their butts pretty easily too! For a bunch of scary guards, they were weak."

_Shut up…_Three moaned in his head as the guards snarled at the insult.

"There are two others with you, right?" One asked, glad that Caout was at least acting like she didn't know him, "Where are they?"

"Headed towards the Forgotten Zone," she replied simply.

The Gorilla Guards made a move but Two acted quickly.

"Hold up, guys! You two should keep an eye on One here and make sure he completes his job…Three and I will take care of the other two."

The guards looked at each other for a moment before nodding. After all, if they made sure One killed this girl, then it would be a no-brainer that the other boys could kill as well.

Two and Three both sighed and exchanged a look with One before heading off towards the Forgotten Zone. They had no idea how One was going to handle this but they hoped he wouldn't have to do the unthinkable.

"I can't believe you gave your friends' position away that easily," One said, trying to stall for time.

"_I_ can't believe that you think you're scaring me with that toy knife of yours," Caout responded, still holding herself in a casual manner.

"This is no toy," One said seriously.

Caout saw the look on One's face. Her smile turned into a slight frown.

"Is that so?" she asked, "Funny…Knives don't seem to suit you…"

"I concur," One replied, "But I would love to see how this one suits you…Especially when it's sticking out of your corpse."

"Big talk…Now back it up."

"Yes, One…Back it up," one of the guards said sinisterly.

One gulped, trying to steady his shaking hand. Only one thing to do at a moment like this…

Put on a show…

With the knife raised, One charged at Caout, who simply stepped to the side. One spun around and ran at her again. Caout did a series of quick steps to dodge as she walked backwards, One jabbing the knife at her at the same time.

"Your aim is horrible," Caout giggled softly.

"What, do you _want_ me to stab you?" One asked, keeping his voice low.

Caout grabbed the arm that held the knife. One was very surprised by the strength she had. He actually put some strength into trying to force his arm free but Caout's grip remained firm.

"The longer you take, the more suspicious those guards will get," Caout whispered.

"That means I'll have to kill you, you know!" One retorted.

"So kill me."

One was completely caught off guard by that. Caout took the opportunity to force him on his back, onto the ground. Caout knelt over him, still struggling with his knife arm.

"Not really, of course," Caout continued as she saw One's expression, "I mean, I'm not in the mood to be buried at sixteen…"

"So, fake it?" One asked, "How can I fake it and make it look convincing?"

Caout smirked.

"By making it as realistic as possible…"

Before One could ask her what she meant, Caout pulled the arm with the knife towards her. One watched with horror as the knife sliced through the side of Caout's neck. He felt warm blood drip onto him as Caout shook for a second before collapsing.

Screams erupted around them as One gently rolled Caout off of him and stared at the blood dripping from her neck and seeping into the ground. In the background, the guards started to laugh.

"I can't believe it!" one of them said, "Gentle One actually went and killed someone!"

"Then those other two _must_ have killed those girls!" the other exclaimed, "C'mon, let's report back to Don Siegel. One, you dispose of the body!"

"And don't forget to return those seats to the amusement park!" the first one said as they walked off.

As soon as they were out of sight, Kota rushed out to check on Caout. He paled at the amount of blood coming from her. One stared silently, the bloody knife lying on the ground. He didn't even seem aware of the stains on his clothes and face…

"…Caout…?" he said softly.

"…What…?"

One and Kota both let out sighs of relief at Caout's hoarse whisper.

"Come, let's get her to the doctor," Kota said.

"Not here!" One cried, "Someone might spot her and report it to Don Siegel!"

"Then where?"

"Could you two hurry it up?" Caout groaned, "I'm kind of bleeding out here…"

One's mind raced to think of an answer.

"Wait…" he said, "Annabeth! The orphanage director! She used to be a lead doctor at the old hospital!"

One quickly but carefully positioned Caout so that she was riding piggyback on him. Then, he took off running through the forest, towards the Forgotten Zone…

* * *

"We're not asking you, we're begging!" Three yelled, "You've got to get off this island!"

"Not until Caout gets back!" Hazuki replied, the same way she has been for the past ten minutes.

"We told you, there's no time for that!" Two argued.

"And _we_ told _you_ she'll be back soon!" Tide retorted, "And we don't have a boat, remember? …Come to think of it, we left our backpacks back at that café…"

"Oh man," Hazuki groaned, "I knew we forgot something…"

Tide and Hazuki were sitting on boxes outside of the orphanage. Not even a minute after they had arrived there, Two and Three showed up and explained things. However, the girls were not going anywhere until Caout had come back…They had no idea why she stayed behind but they hoped she knew what she was doing.

"ANNABETH!"

The orphanage director came running out at the sound of her name, along with several kids. Tide, Hazuki, Two and Three also got up, recognizing the voice as belonging to One.

One stopped in front of the orphanage, panting and sweating profusely. The younger kids screamed as they saw the blood that was falling from Caout, who was on his back.

"Annabeth, you've gotta help her!" One shouted.

"Oh God…" Annabeth whispered, "Bring her inside! Tommy and Matsumi! Go to the back and grab my medical equipment!"

"Yes, Annabeth-san!" the kids cried.

* * *

Annabeth slowly and carefully worked on stemming the bleeding from Caout's wound. Luckily for her, Caout was conscious, so she wasn't panicked.

"_You actually __**stabbed**__ her_?" Hazuki shouted at One furiously.

"I didn't mean to!" he said defensively, "She made me!"

"Excuses," Tide growled.

"No, I mean she _literally_ made me!"

"Don't blame him…" Caout said, "It _is_ my fault…"

Relief that Caout hadn't died turned to rage for One.

"What were you _thinking_?" he yelled at her, fists clenched, "You could have died, you know!"

"Nah, I wouldn't have," Caout replied, wincing as Annabeth treated the wound.

"How can you act so calmly?" Three asked in shock, "You had your neck sliced open!"

"Not exactly," Caout said, meeting One's gaze, "You didn't slice it open…You just reopened an old wound…"

Caout could see that only Tide understood what she meant. After all, Tide had seen that old wound eight years ago…But Caout had refrained from showing others, even her parents and Hazuki, due to the memories it brought up.

But now…

She let out a sigh and moved aside the hair covering the left side of her neck. Hazuki gasped and the boys' pale faces grew even whiter.

Annabeth had cleaned away most of the blood. The old wound ran the entire length of the left side of Caout's neck. Long and dark…Horrible…

There was no question about it…That old wound should have been fatal…

"I was in horrible shape when I got that one…Compared to that, this whole mess is like a paper cut," Caout said with a small laugh as Annabeth slowly stitched up the wound.

"How…?" Hazuki asked softly.

Caout's eyes became downcast.

"I picked a fight I couldn't win at the time," she whispered, "And when I didn't have a will to live either."

Tide and Hazuki knew who the person she fought was, remembering the battle against Reo on Garuka Island eight years back. But they couldn't believe that the Caout they knew ever _**not**_ had the will to live…No one asked anything more from Caout…It was obviously a bad topic for her...

"All done," Annabeth said, "It shouldn't scar…"

"Good, my neck can't take any more scars," Caout laughed.

"I don't get it," Tide said, "Don Siegel does horrible stuff like this…Why don't you call the Marines on him?"

Annabeth laughed at that…Not one of mirth, but one of bitterness…

"Please," she said, "Don Siegel bribed the local Marine Base to ignore his actions…And there's no one else who will come to save our island…"

"Speaking of Don Siegel," Three said slowly, "We better be getting back. His twin demons are going to be after our hides if we don't finish that amusement park ride…"

"Wait."

Hazuki's words stopped the triplets from moving. They stared at her curiously.

"You three are good people from what we've seen," Hazuki said, "And you're talented at cooking. You could open up a restaurant or something. Why do you steal? Why do you work for a man like _that_?"

"It's circumstances," Two said tiredly, "We steal because that's what we did for so long before Don Siegel found us. It became a habit."

"And we work for Don Siegel because we benefit from it," Three added, "We steal money for him, he gives us food, clothes, shelter. He's also the reason we're good at building and modifying. He hired people to teach us."

"Yeah," One continued, "We wanted to fight but we didn't want real weapons. And we didn't want people to see it coming…So he brought tutors to teach us how to turn everyday things into battle ready gear…Toys are our specialty…"

"Is that all?" Tide asked, eyeing the three of them, "You three still seem too kind to work for Don Siegel without there being some other reason…"

The Kirkland Brothers looked at each other. The girls were taken aback by the overwhelming sadness on their faces.

"We work for him because we were in bad shape when he found us," Three explained, "Our infamy as uncatchable thieves had spread but our conditions were pitiful…So pitiful…"

"He came along and offered us stuff we never had and skills we never could have learned," Two went on, "And all we had to do was steal for him and make sure no one caught on to us helping out the islanders."

Caout leaned forward, her eyes locked on One, whose gaze was firmly fixed on the ground.

"There's something else," she stated.

One's lower lip trembled.

"…We're doing it for _her_…" he muttered.

Two and Three looked at One with troubled faces.

"One…"

"You don't have to-"

"We've kept the story to ourselves for years now!" One yelled at them, shocking his brothers and the girls, "We won't even talk about with _each other_! _I can't take it anymore_! Even if it's with people I barely know, I want to talk about it!"

One turned to the girls while Two and Three looked on with resigned expressions.

"It happened long before Don Siegel showed up," One said, "When we were young…That event showed us just how weak and poor we were…How useless we were…If we had the money…If we had strength to fight, then it wouldn't have happened! When Don Siegel arrived, we didn't join for our sakes! We did it because with him we could get more money, more skills, the ability to fight, experience…We could get that all and finally help _her_!"

One's voice broke multiple times during his rant and his body shook. He took a few deep breathes before he continued.

"We weren't always just the Kirkland Brothers," he said softly, "…There's another in our family…"

Other than few widening eyes, no one reacted to the news. They saw it was hard for One to talk about this, especially since this was his first time talking about it in years. One looked back at his brothers, who nodded encouragingly. They knew he was right…It was about time they spoke about this event once again, no matter how painful it was…

"…I guess I should start thirteen years ago…When my brothers and I were five…"

* * *

Yes, the chapter is ending here! Don't look at me like that! Next chapter will be, I think, mostly flashback and a tiny bit of present time stuff at the very end. So we're finally going to learn more about the Kirkland Brothers and their past. What happened? And who is the "her" they mentioned? You'll see next chapter!

**I would like more reviews please! Pretty please?**


	10. Anything Girls

My first almost 100% flashback chapter of the story! What secrets do the Kirkland Brothers hold? What happened in their past? You'll find out today!

Caout: She's acting like an announcer….

Tide: Let her have her fun…

Me: For future reference, when I do flashbacks, they'll be in italics but if there's ever a point where I have to do a flashback within a flashback (flashception) then that flashback will be in bolded italics. And also, this chapter goes into some horrible stuff…It isn't stated outright but it is _**heavily**_ implied what it is.

Disclaimer: As much as I try, I can never create as funny, adventurous, heartwarming and incredible a tale as One Piece, thus I do not own One Piece…

* * *

_Thirteen years ago, in the outskirts of a town on Dickens Island in the East Blue…_

_There was a small hut, surrounded by similar huts. Each hut was falling apart and it would be surprising to think that anyone lived in such decrepit structures._

_But people __**did**__ live here… _

_This area filled with huts was inhabited by the poorest of the poor of Dickens Island. People who had next to nothing for themselves…This area was situated just outside of town, in full view of people who, while not well off, had far more than the people of the Hut District, as it was known as. _

_In one such hut, a woman was seated on the floor, a bottle of alcohol in her hand. Littering the ground around her were many similar bottles, all empty. This woman was Maka Kirkland, a thirty year old woman with long and wiry orange hair and dark brown eyes._

_The people of the Hut District knew of Maka's story. Her husband had left her four years ago to parts unknown, after promising to be with her forever since they were sixteen. No one knew for sure if it was her husband's departure that caused it or if it was inevitable, but Maka started to drown herself in alcohol._

_She would do anything and everything to get some money, money that she used to buy some food and plenty of alcohol to distract her from her situation. Had Maka lived alone, everyone would have pitied the woman…_

_But Maka didn't live alone…_

"_Mommy?"_

_Maka raised her head at the soft voice. There stood a small boy with messy blonde hair, caked with dirt, and green eyes. He was only dressed in a dirty and torn oversized white shirt that reached his knees._

_This boy was One Kirkland…_

"_What?" Maka said coldly._

_One fidgeted slightly under his mother's cold gaze._

"_I'm…I'm hungry…" he murmured._

"_Well, that's too bad, isn't it?" Maka retorted, "There's no food here."_

"…_Hungry, Mommy…"_

"_Get out!" Maka yelled._

_One flinched and didn't say another word. Even though he was only five, he knew not to push his mother too far. Her temper was a short one and she was terrifying when pushed past her breaking point._

_So One went back outside, his stomach growling loudly. Honestly, he should be used to it. He had always been too small, always been too skinny, always too hungry…He should be used to it… _

"_One!"_

_One looked up and saw two other boys, one with orange hair and the other with black hair, both with the same eyes as him, waving at him. These boys were Two and Three Kirkland…His brothers._

_Most people raised an eyebrow or said a small comment when the boys introduced themselves. After all, their names are rather unique. But the story behind the names was simple. Their mother had been counting down to when the boys would be born so that she wouldn't be in pain anymore. When they finally came out, she named them accordingly…_

_Two and Three were playing in the mud so One decided to join them. Maybe playing would get his mind off of his hunger. And so the three boys played in the mud for hour after hour after hour…Until the sun had nearly set…_

"_One! Two! Three! What're you boys doing?"_

_The boys perked up at their names and looked in the direction of the voice._

_There stood a fourteen, nearly fifteen, year old girl. She had straight blond hair that reached her shoulders and the same green eyes as them. She was dressed in a simple white dress and apron and brown loafers, all covered in many stains. Her hands were on her hips, a bag hanging off of one arm, and she stared at them sternly._

"_Sis!" the boys cried happily as they got out of the mud and ran to hug the girl._

_Yes, this girl was the boys' older sister, Sis Kirkland. Now, her true name wasn't Sis. It was something else. But when Maka's husband left, she wouldn't talk to her daughter at all. When the boys became old enough to talk, they only referred to the girl as Sis…So she abandoned the name she held before and went with this one…She was Sis Kirkland… _

"_C'mon, you three!" Sis cried as her brothers hugged her, "You're getting mud all over me!"_

"_But Sis is already dirty!" Three said._

"_I am, aren't I?" Sis laughed, "Well, we have to change that, don't we? Let's go to the river and wash up, okay?"_

* * *

_After an hour, the boys were as clean as possible had Sis had washed out as many stains as she could from their clothing._

_On the way back to the Hut District, the boys asked Sis how her day was. Sis worked in town, in a restaurant, as an assistant chef in the kitchens. The pay wouldn't sound like much to most people but it was the difference between life and death for the Kirkland family. _

"_Sis made lots of yummy food today?" Two asked, clutching his sister's dress._

"_Plenty!" Sis replied, "I memorized all sorts of new recipes too."_

"_Will you teach me?" One asked._

_Sis smiled at the youngest of the triplets. Like Sis, One had a keen interest in cooking. Whenever she could, Sis took her brothers to work with her. While Two and Three did their own stuff, One would be right beside Sis, learning recipes and cooking. Sis was surprised by how quickly the boy was able to learn and even the veteran cooks said that the boy had talent._

"_When I take you guys to work next time, okay?" Sis replied, earning a nod from the boy._

_The siblings reached their hut and entered. Sis immediately frowned at her mother, lying on the ground._

"_Are you awake?" she asked coolly._

"…_You…" Maka groaned, "So you're back…What's in the bag?"_

"_Food," Sis replied, "I got paid today. And, unlike you, I actually think about __**everyone's**__ wellbeing."_

"_You buy booze?"_

_Sis' frown deepened as she pulled out a single bottle and placed it before Maka. _

"_What the hell is this?" Maka growled._

"_Don't curse in front of the boys," Sis ordered, gesturing to her brothers, who were watching the scene warily, "And be grateful I bought you that much…"_

_Sis turned away from Maka and proceeded to take out bread, cheese and milk from the bag._

"_Ready for a nice dinner?" she asked her brothers._

"_Yup!" they said cheerfully._

* * *

"_One, Two, Three…You awake?"_

_The boys were lying on the ground, snuggled together to keep warm, when Sis woke them. They saw that their mother was still fast asleep on the other side of the room._

"_What's wrong, Sis?" Three asked._

"_Nothing!" she replied, a smile on her face, "Did you three remember what day it is today?" _

"_Tuesday!" Two cried, only to be shushed by Sis so that Maka wouldn't wake up._

"_No, Wednesday," Three said._

"_I thought it was Thursday…" One said._

"…_Actually, it's Saturday," Sis stated with a sigh, "But that's not the point! It's your sixth birthday today, right?"_

_The boys looked at one another. That's right…It __**was**__ their birthday… _

"_I had a little extra money saved up," Sis explained, reaching into the bag she had, "So, I bought you this!"_

_The boys gasped with surprise as Sis pulled out a small but pretty cake, covered in vanilla frosting and strawberries._

"_I think it's about time you three had a birthday cake," Sis said with a chuckle as the boys hugged her in thanks._

_As the boys and Sis ate the cake, hoping Maka wouldn't wake up, One asked Sis a question._

"_Sis…How come Mommy is mean?"_

_Sis looked at the boys, all of whom were waiting for an answer, and let out a small sigh._

"_I wish I could explain it," she said, "But it's not that simple…"_

"_I don't like this," One replied._

_Sis smiled softly and ruffled the boy's hair._

"_Don't worry," Sis said, "I'll work hard to get more money at the restaurant and I'll give you three the stuff you deserve…It will get better, I promise."_

_One didn't say anything else. Truth be told, that wasn't what he meant. He didn't care about stuff like being rich or poor…One only wished that he and his siblings had been born to a mother who cared about them._

_But Sis said things would get better. And Sis was always right, so One decided to believe her._

…_None of them were aware that in one month's time, their situation would deteriorate…_

_In one month, Maka finally fell victim to her beloved alcohol… _

* * *

"_C'mon you three…Pick up the pace…"_

_Sis looked behind her to make sure her brothers were keeping up with her. She brought them to work all the time now. It had been four months since they had to bury their mother and Sis became the sole breadwinner for the family. She still worked at the restaurant but bad times had led to her salary being cut in half._

_Sis' face looked the same, albeit a little paler than usual, and there were dark bags under her eyes…But if one looked under her dress, one would've seen her ribs starting to stick out. Sis ate very little herself, making sure her brothers got the most of whatever she could afford._

_Knowing that just buying things wasn't going to help, Sis resorted to something she never thought she would have to do…She started stealing. It wasn't often or much…But she did it whenever she could. Unfortunately, her brothers had also started the habit. And they were showing far more skill than her, possibly because there were three of them. Their biggest feat had been taking four loafs of bread, three gallons of milk and two boxes of crackers from a store…Without __**anyone**__ noticing…_

_But it wasn't enough. The triplets were skinnier than ever before and lacked energy. Even Two, the hyperactive one of the brothers, was lethargic. And One was sick with…something, Sis didn't know what. But without money, no doctor on the island would bother to look at him. _

_As the boys followed Sis to work, One noticed a flyer on the ground. He picked it up and slowly read it. Sis had often sat outside of schoolhouses and listened in on lessons so that she could teach herself and her brothers to read. _

"_Sis?" One said slowly, his voice wheezing due to his unknown illness, "What's an Anything Girl?"_

_Sis stopped dead and spun so quickly that the boys jumped in shock. She stared at One with wide, fearful eyes._

"_W-w-where did you hear that?" she asked._

_One showed Sis the flyer. It showed a beautiful woman in an elegant red dress. At the top of the flyer, in lovely letters, were the words "Madame Cupid's Anything Girls". At the bottom of the flyer were the words "For the right price, these girls will do anything you desire"._

_Sis shivered at the flyer. She had heard the rumors. One month ago, in the richer area of town, a woman named Madame Cupid had a giant, hotel-like building built. It was a gorgeous, high-class building that had maids and butlers, velvet, crystal…the works…Such buildings were set up all over the world, all owned by Madame Cupid, who was on the island to see how well her newest hotel did… _

"_I don't want to hear you boys talk of this again," Sis said firmly, snatching the flyer out of One's hands._

_One was going to say something but Three elbowed him gently to shut him up._

_Sis looked down at the flyer…And stared…_

"_Sis?" Two said when the girl didn't start walking._

_Sis seemed to not hear him. Her eyes were locked on the flyer…_

"_Now hiring"…That's what the flyer said…And that salary…It was far more than what she made now. Far, far, __**far**__ more…Enough to keep the triplets and herself from starving. Enough to get One treated by a doctor. Enough to get them a proper place to live, decent clothes… _

_She looked at her reflection in a store window. She looked sickly and dirty…But with a few changes…_

"…_Let's go, boys," she whispered._

* * *

_The Kirkland Brothers were alone in their family hut. After work, Sis had told them to stay put for just a bit. The brothers weren't sure where she was going. All they knew was that she cleaned herself up well and was wearing a very pretty red dress that she had stolen from a shop._

_After a few hours, when it was pitch black outside, Sis returned._

"_Where'd Sis go?" Three asked._

"_What happened?" Two added._

_Sis looked scared but she forced a smile to her face as she looked at her innocent little brothers._

"_I got a new job," she said, "It took some convincing but they hired me…We'll be getting a lot of money now."_

"_Sis is taking us to work there too?" One asked._

_Sis' face became white as a sheet._

"_No!" she all but screamed, "I mean, there are no little kids allowed there. I'll be working some long hours, so you three will have to be alone…But we'll be okay…I know it…"_

* * *

_Another several months passed and the triplets turned seven while Sis turned sixteen…_

_Things became so much better. Sis was able to get One's sickness treated by a doctor. She moved herself and her brothers to an apartment in town. She was able to buy them new clothes and food…So much food…_

_The boys finally started to look healthy. They were their proper weight. The proper nutrition made them grow faster. Their apartment had a kitchen, where Sis taught One cooking skills whenever she got home from work._

_Sis also bought the boys their first toys. It took some time to teach them just what the toys did but once they got the hang of it, they were having the time of their lives. Sis always laughed when she heard the triplets talk about how the toys could be changed up to do things she knew toys were not capable of…_

_But the brothers weren't always happy…There was something wrong with their sister and they knew it._

_Whenever she came home from work, her pretty red dress and her hair were messy. Sis had to wear make-up for work and it was always messed up by the time she got home. She always seemed to be on the brink of being sick or crying, but she would put on a smile whenever the boys called her out on it._

_It was when she came home with bruises and small cuts that their worry intensified. But Sis never said a word. All she said was that she worked hard that day and that she would always take care of them…_

_When Sis went to work one day, the Kirkland Brothers decided to follow her and see just what was happening._

_They were taken aback when they reached the area where the hotel was located. The incredibly beautiful building had a line of people extending for about three blocks outside of it. Sis was walking briskly towards the hotel while several people on line called out to her, apparently knowing her._

"_Sis!" the boys called together._

_Their sister froze in her tracks before slowly turning around, her expression one of absolute horror._

"_One, Two, Three…" she whispered as the boys ran up to her._

"_Sis, what's going on in there?" Three asked._

"_What are all these people waiting for?" Two demanded._

"_Please, you guys!" Sis said desperately, looking over shoulder multiple times, "Please, go home!"_

"_Why do you come home hurt, Sis?" One asked._

"_It's nothing…Please go home you three, I beg-"_

"_Miss Kirkland?"_

_Sis paled and the boys' jaws dropped open. Behind Sis was a man who had to be at least eight feet tall. He wore a black suit and sunglasses and was very muscular. He looked down at the four siblings with a cold glare._

"_Your customers are waiting," he said in a deep voice._

"_I-I-I'm sorry," Sis stuttered. She turned to her brothers, "Boys, go! I'll be home later!"_

"_But, Sis-" One began, only to be cut off by the tall man._

"_You heard your sister, boys…Go home. This isn't a place for little kids."_

_The boys were all thinking of comebacks when they saw a commotion up ahead. One of the men in line was arguing with another suited guy, someone who looked just like the tall man standing before them._

"_Boys, please leave!" Sis begged, fear in her voice._

"_What's going on?" Three asked._

_Sis started to push them away as the fight between the disorderly man and the suited guy intensified._

"_Sis, what-?"_

_The question was cut off as the boys watched something horrible. The suited guy grabbed the man he was fighting with. The man was being choked, his face turning blue quickly._

"_Go home," Sis ordered quickly, her body shaking._

_But the boys didn't move quickly enough. They watched in horror as the suited guy punched the man's chest…No…He punched __**through**__ the man's chest…It was quick…Almost like lightning…_

_The tall man who was with the siblings scooped up the brothers._

"_You're all going home," he said darkly as he carried them off, "Miss Kirkland, you're late to work."_

_As the boys were carried away, they all cried out for their sister, who they just realized was working somewhere terrible…_

* * *

_Two days after the incident, despite much begging and pleading, the boys couldn't convince Sis to quit working. She always said that she was going to take care of them, no matter what…_

_One day, on a rare day off for Sis, it happened…_

_Someone knocked on the door of their apartment. Sis went to open the door and clapped a hand over her mouth to suppress a cry of shock. The boys went over to see who was there._

_There were two of those suited guys, apparently guards, outside, identical in every way. They stood behind a beautiful woman who was dressed in a gorgeous dress and fur coat, covered from head to toe in jewelry. _

"_Madame Cupid…" Sis said in shock, "W-w-why are you-?"_

"_Miss Kirkland," Madame Cupid said, "The hotel is going over well so I am going to return home to District Zero."_

"_Oh…I see…"_

"_Yes, well, I have read over reports and it seems that you are the most popular Anything Girl here. And quite the diligent worker. You impress me and that's awfully hard to do…"_

"_Th-thank you, ma'am," Sis muttered, her gaze locked on the ground._

_Madame Cupid let out a chuckle._

"_And so," she said, "I'm giving you the honor of coming with me to work at District Zero. Your pay will double and you get to work at the headquarters of the Anything Girls Hotels. The place where only the elite of the elite visit."_

"_Wh-what?" Sis said disbelievingly, "You mean, me and my brothers-"_

"_Your brothers?" she repeated before finally noticing the boys, "Oh…No, dear…Just you."_

_Sis paled._

"_No…" she said, "No, I can't! The boys need me, I can't leave them behind!"_

_Madame Cupid narrowed her eyes at Sis._

"_I'm sorry, dear…But your opinion means nothing. You're coming. Take her."_

_One of the guards quickly moved forward and grabbed Sis. She struggled and yelled but she couldn't break free._

"_Let her go!" One yelled._

"_She doesn't want to go with you!" Two said as he pulled Sis' leg._

"_She's staying with us!" Three shouted._

_The guard acted quickly. In less than five seconds, he grabbed all three boys and were dangling them by their legs. _

"_I can do so many things to you brats," he growled, "Rip your bodies in half, tear your heads off, throw you out the window…"_

"_NO!" Sis screamed as the boys all turned white and shuddered in fear. She was sobbing, "Don't hurt them! Please! One! Two! Three!"_

"_Let's go," Madame Cupid said, "Keep those boys occupied until we leave."_

_The guard nodded as Madame Cupid and the guard holding Sis walked away. Sis was still screaming for her brothers as she was taken. The boys were also yelling, tears streaming down their faces, as their sister was kidnapped right before their eyes._

_After a few minutes, the guard dropped the boys and left. The boys quickly got to their feet and ran after him. But by the time they exited the building, the guards and Madame Cupid were nowhere to be seen. They had vanished…_

…_And so had Sis…_

* * *

Two had taken a seat on a box, his hands over his head and his whole body shaking with grief. Three had put a hand over his eyes to hide his tears. One didn't bother to hide it. The tears streamed down his face but he paid them no heed.

Caout, Tide and Hazuki stared at the boys with shock. They never would have expected their past to be like that…Annabeth was wiping her eyes.

"One month," One said, his voice hoarse, "It wasn't until a month later that we learned just what Anything Girls were…How? How did we not realize Sis' suffering? How didn't we realize all the sacrifices she was making for our sakes?"

"…Without Sis, we were forced back to the Hut District," Three said in a quiet voice, "It was then that we realized what we had to do…We had to find a way to get Sis. But those guards are fast and strong. So we needed to learn how to fight."

"But we thought it might not come to that," Two muttered, "As much as we hated thinking that way, we thought that maybe we can buy Sis back…So we knew we had to earn tons of money too…"

"So we became the infamous Kirkland Brothers," One said, the tears finally stopping, "And our fame was enough to catch Don Siegel's attention…You know the rest."

There was a heavy silence in the room for several moments.

"You three want to go to District Zero," Tide said, "And get your sister…"

They nodded.

"We know it's wishful thinking but we can't help but believe she's still there, waiting for us to show up," Three explained.

"You guys seem to be strong enough," Hazuki said, "And you've stolen a lot of money. Why don't you leave this island?"

"Please," Two scoffed, "We're strong but we're still not strong enough to fight those guards. We need far more experience."

"Which you can get by leaving this place and traveling."

"True…" One said with a sigh, "But we'd be abandoning the islanders to Don Siegel. We're his main source of income right now. If we go, he'll work the islanders to death."

"You're staying for our sakes?" Annabeth asked.

"What can we say? We've grown fond of you people…"

"Alright then."

Everyone turned to Caout, who finally said something. She stood up and stretched.

"You three!" Caout said, pointing at the Kirkland Brothers, "You're joining my pirate crew as our cooks!"

Everyone opened their mouths in shock at Caout's declaration.

"Didn't you hear _anything_ we said?" One asked, "Our goal is to go to District Zero!"

"Say, Haz," Caout said, "Isn't District Zero in the New World?"

"Huh?" Hazuki replied, "…Oh…Wow, you're right. It's an island that's located about fifty miles south of Raftel. Mom had mentioned it was hell on earth for beautiful girls…"

"What a coincidence!" Caout cried, "The final destination for me and the girls just happens to be the island of Raftel…Meaning District Zero is on the way."

The brothers looked at each other. Caout could see that they were beginning to consider the idea…

"But we still can't leave this place," One stated, "Don Siegel will cause trouble."

"Then, we'll just take him out!" Caout replied determinedly.

"Take him out?" Three repeated, "But he has all those Gorilla Guards!"

"How many?" Tide asked.

"About fifty," Two answered.

"So fifty Gorilla Guards, one Don Siegel and his two bratty kids," Tide said, "Versus you boys and us three…"

Caout and Tide looked at each other.

"Good odds!" they said simultaneously.

This was crazy…The boys knew this…One couldn't help but stare at the girls, who were talking about defeating Don Siegel and his annoyingly strong Gorilla Guards as though it was a simple task. One and his brothers knew how tough the Gorilla Guards were…They often trained with them and they had to work hard to take out a handful…

…But…Hadn't these three girls been able to take out two rather easily?

"…Fine…"

The girls turned to One, who stood up. He walked up to Caout and extended a hand.

"We'll try this," he said, "If you girls can help us take out Don Siegel and free this island, then we'll join your crew."

He looked over his shoulder at Two and Three. They both smirked and stepped forward as well, each putting a hand on One's shoulders, standing behind their little brother.

"Promise to join?" Caout asked.

"Only if you promise to get this crazy thing done," One replied.

Caout smiled widely at that and grasped One's hand.

"I promise!" they said together.

* * *

Flashback over and now it's time for action! And I still suck at writing fighting scenes! …Oh man…

This chapter was longer than I thought it would be but I had a lot of stuff to get in. Sis truly does love her brothers…She went through so much for them…By the way, not all flashbacks will be a chapter or more long. Sometimes, I may do flashbacks as random snippets…Well, you'll see whenever I get there.

The **One, Two, Three Arc** is heading towards its conclusion in perhaps three to four chapters…And get ready readers…Because there's going to be **one hell of a twist** near the end.

Please review everyone! Thank you!


	11. The Game Is Afoot

Alright, now it's time to head towards the climax of the **One, Two, Three Arc** over the next couple chapters. I'm still planning out which arc to do next. I mean, I can go three different ways from here so I'm trying to figure out which way is good…Man, I think I'm starting to understand how Oda feels when he's planning out his story…

Oh, and for all of you keeping track at home, as of the end of this chapter, the girls are on day five of their adventure.

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece… Hazuki: …Is that it? Me: I'm not going to beat around the bush on this…

* * *

Much to Caout's infinite displeasure, the attack on Don Siegel's mansion wasn't going to take place until the next morning. She had argued that she wanted to take care of things right at that moment, wanting the Kirkland Brothers on her crew as soon as possible.

"Absolutely not!" Annabeth said sternly, "If you insist on going on a rampage, you will wait until tomorrow. If you do too much today, your wound will reopen. And what are you going to do when that happens?"

"…Carry on and hope I don't pass out?" Caout suggested.

Annabeth shot Caout that firm doctor glare she had perfected back when she worked in a hospital, dealing with several stubborn patients. Caout sighed when she saw the looks on everyone else's faces. They all agreed with Annabeth.

"Don't fuss, Caout," Hazuki stated, "This will give us time to think up a good plan!"

"And it will give _you_ plenty of time to think up ways to ruin it, Listerra," Tide said in the same tone while Hazuki shot her a look.

"Oh, fine!" Caout said reluctantly, "We'll wait until morning…"

"Now that that's settled," Three said, looking at his watch, "We have to get back to the mansion before Don Siegel gets suspicious…"

"We'll come back tomorrow to go over the plan," Two added, "We'll see you later then, ladies!"

As they turned to leave, Caout stopped them with a sudden "Wait!"

"After we kick Don Siegel's ass," she said, "Will you tell us how One escaped from our boat a couple days ago?"

The brothers looked at each other.

"We _are_ going to working for her if this goes well," Two said.

"True," One chuckled, "Alright, we'll tell…No…We'll _show_ you."

"Good."

After the boys left, Caout noticed someone watching her from the doorway.

"Oh, hey, Tommy!" she greeted with a wave as the small boy came up to her.

"A-a-are you okay?" he asked, looking at her stitched up neck worriedly.

"Don't worry, I've been through worse!" Caout said with a smile, "Did I scare you?"

Tommy nodded. Caout reached out and ruffled the boy's hair to comfort him.

"Are you guys really going to fight Don Siegel tomorrow?" he asked the girls.

"We are," Tide stated, "And we plan on winning too."

"But…He's really scary…"

"Has this guy ever fought himself?" Hazuki asked.

"No," Tommy replied, "It's always the Gorilla Guards."

"Well, there you go!" Caout said, "We take out the monkeys and knock out this Siegel moron with a punch and those boys will join my crew!"

"And the island will be free," Hazuki added.

"Yeah, that too."

* * *

Back at Don Siegel's mansion, Don Siegel, Lila and Roland were having an extravagant supper when the Kirkland Brothers returned. Two grimaced at all the food, knowing that it was all enough to feed the people of the Forgotten Zone for weeks. Three nudged him inconspicuously to warn him against saying or doing anything.

"Ah, boys," Don Siegel greeted as he took a sip of wine, "The guards told me of what occurred. Excellent job taking care of those three pesky girls."

"Like I said before, you can count on us, sir," Two replied with a fake smile.

"And One," he continued, turning to the blond, "You actually killed that girl with a knife. Nice to know that you really are capable after all."

"Of course, Don Siegel," One replied, his face turning a bit pale upon remembrance of all that blood, "Sir, my brothers and I were tracking quite an interesting target the day before. Is it alright if we head out tomorrow morning? We don't want to have lost it…"

"Of course, boys," Don Siegel said.

"But, Father!" Lila whined, "What about our new ride?"

"Yes, Father!" Roland complained as well, "Make them build our new ride!"

"Now, children," Don Siegel said with a chuckle, "Those boys need to rest so that they can do their job tomorrow. They're getting more money for us. And you both like money, right?"

"Yes, Father," the twins stated.

But a few seconds later, they both threw temper tantrums. While Don Siegel tried to calm them down, the boys went off to the room they shared in the mansion.

The game was afoot…

* * *

The next morning, Caout was looking at her neck in the reflection of the water in the trough behind the orphanage. The wound was already healing up nicely and Annabeth had said it shouldn't reopen.

As she stared at her reflection, Caout frowned as she traced the scar of the original wound on her neck. So many memories came rushing back in that moment.

_Don't! _she scolded herself in her head. _Don't remember…_

"Caout!"

The girl grinned as she heard the voice and turned to greet One, Two and Three. Tide and Hazuki also came out and said good morning to the boys.

"So, what's the plan, ladies?" Two asked, hands in his pockets and an eager look on his face.

"We march up to the mansion and beat the living hell out of anyone who gets in our way!" Caout said excitedly.

It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop in that moment.

"…You girls had all night," Three said slowly, rubbing his temples, "And _that_ was all you could come up with?"

"No, we thought up a rather decent idea," Tide said.

"But then we realized that whenever we plan something, _**someone**_ ends up acting like an idiot and throwing the whole plan out of the water," Hazuki concluded.

"…I'll try to ignore the fact that you were looking at me when you said that," Caout said with a pout.

"We're seriously just going to do a surprise attack?" One asked, hoping one of the girls would refute the claim.

"Yup!" they all replied, though Caout's reply was the most enthusiastic.

"…_Is it too late to back out of this_?" Two whispered in Three's ear.

"Okay, you three," One said after taking a deep breath, "Let's at least figure out who's fighting who here."

"What?" Caout said, hands on her hips, "Why?"

"Shut up, Caout," Hazuki said, clapping a hand over Caout's mouth so that she couldn't argue, "This way we can get this battle done as quickly and efficiently as possible."

"But long fights are awesome!" Caout argued as she ripped Hazuki's hand away from her mouth.

Hazuki was going to lecture Caout but Tide thought quickly to avoid another argument.

"Listerra," she said, "The shorter the fight, the quicker One, Two and Three join the crew…"

Caout blinked at that statement before smiling broadly.

"Alright! I'm all ears, One!"

Not one of them noticed the shadow that quickly disappeared from sight.

* * *

"_**WHAT**_?"

The Gorilla Guard flinched at the rare loud yell Don Siegel let out. The man looked terrifying, his pupils dilated, his teeth gritted, a vein in his head twitching and his entire body shaking in rage.

It didn't happen often, since the boys always seemed to bring back results, but Don Siegel felt just a bit suspicious of what the three of them were up to. In order to rid himself of these suspicions, he had one of his Gorilla Guards secretly follow the boys, just to see what they were up to.

The news that the guard brought back was beyond unexpected. The Kirkland Brothers, whom he had kept under his thumb for the past four years, were plotting against him. And those three girls they were assigned to kill the day before were not only alive but working with them!

"I knew it!" Lila said angrily, "I _knew_ those awful peasant boys couldn't be trusted!"

"Well, what are you going to do about this, Father?" Roland asked.

Don Siegel clenched his fists, his face growing incredibly red with his anger. Those boys…Those boys…

They would learn who they were messing with!

"Gather all of the Gorilla Guards!" he yelled at the guard before him, "Station them in front of the mansion and get ready to fight!"

"Are we going to kill them all, Don Siegel?" the guard asked.

"…No…"

"NO?" Lila and Roland repeated in shock, "But, Father-"

"Those girls are inconsequential," Don Siegel went on, "You can do as you wish with them but I want them dead…As for the boys…"

A horrible smile formed on his face.

"Beat them up but I want them alive…I have something in mind for those who make me and my family unhappy…"

The guard gave a quick nod before heading off to inform the other guards.

"What should _we_ do, Father?" Roland asked.

"Children, go play in the amusement park," Don Siegel answered.

"What are you talking-?" Lila started.

"I said, _**play**_ in the amusement park," he repeated more slowly, "Just in case…"

Lila and Roland looked at each other and grinned identically.

"Yes, Father," they replied at the same time before turning around and heading outside.

The second they were gone, Don Siegel went off to his room and approached the Den-Den Mushi sitting on the table. He picked up the receiver and dialed a number.

A few rings later, someone picked up on the other end of the line.

"Hello, Marine Base G-26's Comm-"

"Hello, Commander Tadeshi," Don Siegel interrupted.

There was silence for a moment before the man who picked up chuckled.

"Why, Don Siegel," the man called Commander Tadeshi said, "Wonderful to hear from you…You don't usually call my personal line…"

"I need you to come here," Don Siegel stated firmly.

"Oh, wonderful!" Tadeshi replied, "I was heading over to Tropski Island anyway…My payment is due, you know."

"And you shall receive it," Don Siegel said evenly, "But first, there's a bunch of troublemakers I need you to deal with…"

* * *

This is a short chapter, huh? I couldn't help it, this is all I wanted to put in this chapter…I promise, next chapter is when the fighting actually starts. I get the feeling the battle will last for about two and a half chapters. This entire arc should be done in three chapters.

And the third chapter is going to feature such a twist! Oooooooohhhh, I can't wait to see how you react! (Fidgets like an idiot).

Tide: …You want to tell them what you're doing, don't you…

Me: I can't help it! Okay, that's it! What happens is-

Tide: Listerra! Haz!

(Caout and Hazuki grab me and take me away somewhere).

Tide: Don't want her spoiling her story…We'll keep her there until the end of the arc so you people will have to get used to me, Listerra and Haz doing the intros and the bottom notes. We'll see you soon, then.

Oh, right…Please read and review this story for lasmn. She would greatly appreciate this.


	12. The Matchups Are Set

Hello there. This is Nyshairyn Tide speaking here. If you don't recall from the end of the last chapter, lasmn was about to spoil this arc for you readers. Listerra, Haz and I are keeping her…well, not locked up but _away _until the end of the arc. So, the three of us will take over these intros and bottom notes.

Anyways, it is time for the fighting to begin! Now, as lasmn has already told you, she is not good at writing fighting sequences but she tries her best so take it easy on her. She also told me to warn you people about the twist at the end of this arc, since we kept her from spoiling the arc. Anyways, read on and leave a comment, alright?

Disclaimer: Oh right, we have to do this to avoid lawsuits…lasmn doesn't own One Piece at all and she does not wish to do so because the stress would be too much for her.

* * *

"Alright, troops! Let's move out!"

Caout ran down the street while Tide, Hazuki and the Kirkland Brothers followed at a more leisurely pace. Caout, upon noticing this, marched back to the group.

"I said, let's move out!" she repeated, pointing in the general direction of the mansion.

"We _are_ moving out, Listerra," Tide replied, "But our version of moving out isn't as energetic as yours is…"

"C'mon! I want to fight someone!" Caout whined.

"Caout, you don't know where you're going and you certainly will screw something up so just stick with us, alright?" Hazuki said.

Caout groaned but complied. The Kirkland Brothers looked at each other. This girl was going to be their captain if all this went well? It would have made better sense if Tide or Hazuki was the captain…But they had promised and so they had to go through with it.

They only hoped that it would be worth it in the end…

* * *

"Hold it!" One ordered, sticking out his arm to stop the others from progressing.

He gestured with his hand for the others to follow him into the shadows of a bunch of trees.

"What's up, One?" Three asked once they were all hidden.

"Check it out," he said, pointing towards the mansion.

The group looked and they all furrowed their eyebrows.

"Looks like we've got a welcoming committee," Two growled.

In front of the mansion, armed and at attention, were row after row of Gorilla Guards, each as big and sinister looking as the next. They were holding swords, maces, clubs and the like.

One let out a quick sigh of relief that Don Siegel had not given those guards any guns. He knew Don Siegel was aware of the brash nature of the guards and giving them guns would be plain stupid…

"Damn," Tide said through gritted teeth, "Looks like someone overheard our plans…"

"Who cares?" Caout responded, smirking at her competition, "We're going to kick their butts either way."

"So, it looks like all of the Gorilla Guards are out front," One stated. He looked out towards the amusement park, "The park is running…"

"Figures," Two scoffed, "We're about to come in and beat those bastards senseless and those twins _still_ find the need to play in their park."

"…I think we're going to have to change things up a little," One said, "Alright, Caout and I will take care of the Gorilla Guards."

"We were supposed to help you," Three muttered, "But if the twins are in the park, then Tide and I will go after them."

"Meaning the redhead here and I are still going after Don Siegel, right?" Two asked, putting a hand on Hazuki's head.

"Bingo," One replied, "Knowing Don Siegel, he's inside the mansion…You know where, Two."

"You're okay that the boys are taking charge here?" Tide asked Caout.

"It's fine for now," Caout said, "They know the situation best and this _is_ their problem."

"Now that that's settled," Three sighed, "How are the rest of us going to get past the Gorilla Guards?"

Caout put a hand on Three's shoulder and snickered.

"Leave that to me!" she said brightly.

* * *

The guards were starting to get bored. They had been standing in place for the past half hour, waiting for the Kirkland Brothers and those girls to come and attack the mansion…

"Hey there, monkey boys!"

The guards stiffened at that and saw the people they were waiting for approaching them. The girl with the black hair looked like she didn't have a care in the world. The pink haired Elementist was staring at the black haired girl with a suspicious look. The other girl and the Kirkland Brothers looked confused and worried though.

The six teenagers stopped just a few feet away from the guards, who held their weapons tightly and growled menacingly at them.

"How dare you…" the leader of the Gorilla Guards said as he glared at the boys, "How dare you three betray Don Siegel? How dare you orchestrate an attack on him and his family?"

"How dare _we_?" Two shot back, before adding sarcastically, "Yeah, how dare we want to overthrow the man who's ruining this island? We're horrible people…"

"Caout, how are we getting past?" Hazuki asked as all the guards growled at them, getting ready to attack.

Caout smiled as she looked down at her sister. Hazuki raised an eyebrow as Caout grabbed her wrists tightly. When Caout's smile widened, Hazuki felt her heart drop and her eyes grow huge.

"No…" she said, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO!"

Caout then proceeded to swing a screaming and protesting Hazuki around and around, keeping a tight grip on her arms. The boys and Tide backed away quickly as Caout suddenly let go and Hazuki went soaring over the heads of the guards, screaming the entire time.

Everyone, even the guards, stared as Hazuki soared out of sight before turning to gape at Caout.

"You're next!" she said gleefully as she grabbed Two's arms.

"WHA-? _WAIT_!"

But Caout quickly did the same thing to Two and when he went flying, he let out a long string of curses that One and Three weren't aware he knew of.

"Wow, they went pretty far, huh?" was all Caout said as she stared in the direction the two had been thrown.

"You truly are your father's daughter, Listerra," Tide groaned, a hand on her forehead.

"You…" One said weakly, staring back and forth between Caout and where Two and Hazuki had been thrown, "You…What the hell? _What if you killed them_?"

"Haz is used to it and your brother seems tough enough," Caout said, dismissing the concern. She then reached out for Tide, "Time to send you to the park."

Tide slapped Caout's hand away.

"If I wanted to fly, I would've said so," she growled. She looked at Three, who was still in shock over Caout's display of strength, "You! Get on my back."

"What?" Three asked.

"On my back and pick up the pace," she repeated as she saw that the Gorilla Guards were starting to get over their shock, "I'll get us there quickly and without soaring."

"B-but I'm six feet and I must be heavier than you-"

Tide, growing impatient, pulled Three onto her back so that it was like he was riding piggyback. Caout and One both held back their snickers at the awkward sight.

"World's youngest adrenaline junkie?" Caout asked amusedly.

"Got that right," Tide replied with a smirk.

Three was about to comment when his words suddenly became panicked yells. Tide, despite carrying a six foot tall man on her back, had started running as fast as she could towards the Gorilla Guards. The guards held their weapons before them, ready to attack the girl, who they assumed was going to try and plow through their ranks.

Tide smirked and instead leapt up and landed atop the head of one of the guards.

"Excuse me. Pardon. Sorry!" Tide said as she hopped from one guard's head to another as fast as possible.

"That lousy-" one guard started, only to be cut off by a tap on his arm.

He turned just as Caout delivered a brutal punch to his gut, sending him to his knees.

"Me and Blondie are your opponents, monkey boys!" she said as she cracked her knuckles.

"What have I gotten myself into?" One asked himself as he reached into his blazer.

* * *

"Um…Tide…?"

"Yeah?"

"Please…put me down…"

Tide stopped and looked over her shoulder. She saw quite a melee going on, indicating that Caout and One had begun their end of the assault. So she released Three, who dropped on all fours, breathing deeply.

"You're…quite strong, Miss," he said, finally getting to his feet.

"With a partner like that idiot, I have to be," Tide replied casually, "Though I guess with a life like mine, it was how it always was…"

The pair quickly ran into the amusement park. Tide was caught off guard by how incredible the rides were.

"Wow, I can't believe that you and your brothers made this place by yourselves," she said as she gazed about the place.

"Sometimes, I can't believe it either," Three responded, looking around carefully for any sign of Lila and Roland.

"I don't get it," Tide said as they walked about, "Why do _both_ of us need to be here to take out these twins of Don Siegel's? They can't fight, can they? I mean, you can take them and I can go back there and help out Listerra and your brother…"

Three crossed his arms in front of him and looked at Tide.

"Where are we?" he asked her.

"…An amusement park…" she responded, not knowing what he was getting at.

"Who built this park?"

"You and your brothers…"

"And _what_ are we good at doing?"

"Well, you-" Tide cut herself off, "Ohhhh…."

At that moment, the pair heard an extremely loud crash that made them jump out of their skins. Tide's jaw dropped as he saw a giant mechanical octopus, its eight arms, upon which the seats hung, moving rapidly. The octopus was heading towards them at top speed. Three spotted a window near the top of the octopus' head and saw Lila and Roland grinning at them from inside the mechanism.

"You guys take amusement park dangers to a whole new level, don't you?" Tide asked with a groan.

* * *

Meanwhile, just outside the front doors of the mansion…

"You…alive…?" Two groaned, lying on his back in a small crater.

"Yeah…" Hazuki gasped in return, facedown in her own crater just a foot away.

"Is that…normal?"

"Unfortunately…"

Two and Hazuki slowly got to their feet. Two cracked his back and regarded himself carefully. Other than a couple of cuts and bruises, he seemed rather okay. Hazuki also found herself to be in the same condition. She saw that her glasses and staff were unharmed as well, so that was good.

"Man, I should probably get these glasses made to be unbreakable at this rate," Hazuki sighed.

"Tell you what," Two answered, fingering the number pendant on his necklace, "When this is over, give those glasses to One. He'll make them strong enough to handle crap like this…"

Hazuki offered a nod in return and the pair opened the front doors and went inside the mansion. Hazuki was quite taken aback by the inside and looked around in awe. Two, however, moved forward quickly, tired of having seen this place day after day for the past four years.

Hazuki followed Two up the grand staircase and down the hall.

"Where exactly are we going?" Hazuki asked as she looked about warily.

"In this kind of situation, there's only one place that arrogant asshole would be," Two growled, teeth gritted and fists clenched.

Hazuki noticed that they were approaching a door at the very end of the hallway. Two stopped right outside of it and looked over his shoulder at Hazuki.

"Ready?" he asked with a crooked smirk, much like One's only more mischievous.

"Yeah," Hazuki replied as she placed her staff in her hands.

Two nodded and took a deep breath. With a grunt, he kicked the door open, breaking it off of its hinges.

"Wow…" Hazuki said in surprise as they slowly entered the pitch black room, "You're stronger than I thought."

"Well, I tend to get into more fights than One and Three so it's expected."

As the two stopped walking, the lights turned on in the room. Hazuki covered her eyes for a moment, giving them time to adjust to the change of light. When Hazuki took her hand away, she could only offer a puzzled expression.

"…Is this…a toy room?" she asked in disbelief.

"Isn't it marvelous?"

Hazuki and Two turned at the sound of the cocky voice. There, all the way at the other end of the large toy room, seated on a magnificent chair, was Don Siegel. He smoked a cigar and held a glass of wine in his hand, watching the pair with amusement.

"My, my, Two…" he said darkly, "I never thought you and your brothers would betray me…"

"Really?" Two retorted, "Everyone else could've seen this coming long ago…Or are you just that slow, _sir_?"

Don Siegel frowned and clutched his wine glass a little tighter.

"You always were a cheeky one, brat," he growled, "Let's see you and your little friend there get me, then."

Hazuki gripped her staff tightly and ran forward, only for Two to grab her arm and stop her.

"What?" she asked, "Don't you want to get at him?"

"Toy room," was all Two replied.

Hazuki was about to ask him what he meant when she saw some of the toys starting to move…all on their own…

"…Of course…" she sighed as a bunch of giant stuffed animals stepped in front of them.

* * *

Well, now you readers know who is fighting who. Huh…Interesting how Listerra and that One boy are the only ones fighting "normal" opponents. I've got to deal with rogue amusement park rides and Haz is facing weaponized toys…This is going to be a bit annoying but quite doable.

Anyways, please read and review this story! I figure Haz will take over for tomorrow.


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